North Korea has already been engaged in mine-laying this year within the Demilitarized Zone, a 160-mile buffer area along both sides of the border, despite a series of accidents. In July, South Korean officials reported that at least 10 had occurred so far, resulting in multiple deaths.

U KRAINE’S PRESIDENT, Volodymyr Zelensky, declared last week that North Korea is sending troops to Russia, in effect joining the invasion as a co-combatant. The appearance of one of the world’s most erratic and heavily-armed nations in the fight might test the best resourced and well-rested defences.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told journalists in Rome on Wednesday that the Pentagon has evidence that North Korean troops have been deployed in Russia, but what they are doing there is still unknown,

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III confirmed on Wednesday that North Korea had sent troops to Russia to join the fight against Ukraine, a major shift in Moscow’s effort to win the war. Mr. Austin called the North’s presence a “very serious” escalation that would have ramifications in both Europe and Asia.

There is growing intelligence that North Korea has been readying itself for a more direct role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, a move that could reverberate far beyond the frontlines of the war raging in Europe.

This move marks the strongest indication yet that forces from the peninsula could find themselves in direct conflict on Ukrainian soil.