US confirms NKorean troops engaged in combat in Kursk for first time

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Ukrainian Special Forces Soldier provides covering fire for a joint raid exercise between Ukrainian Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEALs during exercise Sea Breeze 21 on Pervomaysʹkyy Island, Ukraine July 2, 2021. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Patrik Orcutt via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -North Korean troops were engaged in combat in Russia's Kursk in recent days for the first time, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

One of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they took part in combat on November 4. The officials did not say whether there were any North Korean casualties and did not provide further details on the engagement.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that the first battles between the Ukrainian military and North Korean troops "open a new page in instability in the world" after his defence minister said a "small engagement" had taken place.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed, in an interview with South Korean television, that the first engagement had occurred with North Korean troops, an apparent escalation in a conflict that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Earlier this week the Pentagon said that there were at least 10,000 North Korean troops in Kursk, adding that between 11,000 and 12,000 troops were in Russia all together.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)