WASHINGTON

The Pentagon said on Monday that it "cannot corroborate" reports suggesting North Korean soldiers are facing their first combat in Russia's Kursk region.

"We believe that there are now at least 10,000 DPRK forces in the Kursk Oblast, recognizing that as we continue to assess DPRK presence on the ground, those numbers could go up slightly in terms of the total number of DPRK troops in Russia," spokesman Pat Ryder told reporters, using initials of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

"We've seen the press reports about alleged combat ops. We're looking into those, but at this point, cannot corroborate those reports," he said.

His comments followed remarks by Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, who claimed Ukrainian forces engaged North Korean troops in Kursk in the first known combat.

Pentagon believes that the total number of North Korean forces in Russia could be closer to around 11,000 to 12,000, Ryder said, adding he is not going to speculate on whether or not North Korea will send additional forces.

Placing these additional forces in Kursk could be "significant," he said.

"But a lot of that will depend on how those forces are employed, how they're integrated into the Russian command and control," he added.

Ryder said if these troops engage in combat support operations against Ukraine, they would become "legitimate military targets."

Asked whether North Korean troops have Russian uniforms and equipment, Ryder said: "My understanding is that all of these forces are being Russian uniforms and Russian equipment."

Regarding the relationship between Russia and North Korea, Ryder said the US "definitely" continues to monitor it.

"The level of cooperation between the two remains concerning, but in many ways, transactional. And so again this is something we'll keep a close eye on," he added.