Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said North Korea has deployed troops to Russia, the first senior US official to confirm the development on the record, as North Korea and Russia have forged increasingly friendly ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

North Korean troops are being outfitted in Russian uniforms and equipment as they move from training in eastern Russia to the country’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine where they could join the fighting and broaden the conflict.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Wednesday the U.S. has evidence that North Korean troops are in Russia.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday there is evidence that North Korea has sent troops to Russia. Exactly what the North Korean troops are doing in Russia was “left to be seen," Austin told reporters in Rome.

Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report that South Korea may be inclined to boost its support for Ukraine following Russia's deployment of North Korean troops close to Ukraine’s border.