The heavy losses suffered by the Russian army in the fighting in Ukraine are one of the main reasons for the involvement of North Korean military personnel, Pentagon spokesman Patrick S. Ryder said.

“Staggering casualties among Russian forces. So again, this is one reason why we assessed that DPRK forces have been brought into this fight is to help Russia make up for some of those losses,” Ryder said a briefing Tuesday.

According to him, more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been taking part in combat operations together with Russian troops, most of them in the west of Kursk region. Russian troops have trained soldiers from the DPRK to work with artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles, basic infantry operations, and all these skills will be applied on the front line.

“And so for our part, what we're doing is we're continuing to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs in terms of security assistance to defend itself from Russian aggression,” the Pentagon representative said.

He said he could not provide more information about what exactly the participation of North Korean military personnel in the war might entail. “And we'll continue to keep consulting closely with our allies and partners on next steps,” Ryder added.