UNITED NATIONS — The United States has received information that indicates that "right now" there are 8,000 North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region, deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood told the Security Council on Thursday (Oct 31).

"I have a very respectful question for my Russian colleague: Does Russia still maintain that there are no DPRK troops in Russia?" Wood said, referring to North Korea's formal name: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The Russian representative in the 15-member Security Council at the time did not respond to Wood. Moscow has neither denied nor directly confirmed the presence of North Korean troops. After an initial denial, North Korea has since defended the idea of deploying troops as being in line with international law.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In August this year Ukrainian forces fought their way into the Russian border area of Kursk, where they continue to hold territory.

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