The US State Department said that 10,000 North Korean servicemen are deployed in Russia’s Kursk Region, Paralel.Az reports.

"We now assess that as many as 10,000 have made their way to Kursk and could enter combat in the coming days," Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman told a news conference.

He was commenting on Western speculation that there are North Korean soldiers in Russia. The spokesman said he was aware of news reports that the soldiers are already fighting in the Kursk Region, but was unable to confirm them.

"As we have said, we expected that it was likely that they would enter into combat against Ukrainian forces," he said. "And if they did, they would be legitimate military targets."