WASHINGTON 

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urged North Korea on Wednesday to withdraw troops from Russia.

"I call upon them to cease their potentially destabilizing behavior in both the Indo-Pacific region and now in the European theater as well,” Austin said at a joint news conference with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun at the Pentagon. “It does have the potential of lengthening the conflict or broadening the conflict if that continues."

Austin said evidence suggests North Korea sent 10,000 soldiers to train in eastern Russia, and he expressed concern about the "unprecedented level of direct military cooperation" between Russia and North Korea.

"Some of these DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) troops have already moved closer to Ukraine, and we're seeing them outfit it with Russian uniforms and provide it with Russian equipment.

"I am increasingly concerned that the Kremlin plans to use these North Korean soldiers to support Russia's combat operations in Russia's Kursk region, near the border with Ukraine," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not prevail in Ukraine "even with more help" from North Korea, said Austin.

"Whether or not they'll be employed in the fight, it's left to be seen yet, but certainly if they are employed, then that's very disturbing, and so we remain concerned that they're going to use these troops in combat," he added.

Asked when North Korean soldiers may enter the fight against Ukrainian forces in Kursk, Austin said he "won't speculate" on the timing.

"This is something we're going to continue to watch, and we're going to continue to work with allies and partners to discourage Russia from employing these troops in combat," he added.

- North Korean soldiers are 'co-belligerents' with Russia if they join fight

Asked what happens when North Korean soldiers are killed by Ukraine with US-provided weapons, Austin said Ukraine can use US weapons against North Korean soldiers if they join the fight.

"Well, if the DPRK soldiers are fighting alongside Russian soldiers in this conflict and attacking Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian soldiers have the right to defend themselves, and they will do that with the weapons that we provided and others have provided, that's to be expected," he said.

If the North Korean soldiers are fighting alongside Russian soldiers, Austin said they are "co-belligerents."

"You have every reason to believe that those kinds of things will happen, that they will be killed and wounded as a result of battle," he added.

Kim said North Korea continues to escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim said he and Austin agreed to maintain an "overwhelming" combined defense posture and engage in close coordination and responses.

"I do not necessarily believe that the North Korean troops deployment to Russia results in the changes in the possibility of war breaking out on the Korean Peninsula.

"However, I believe this can result in the escalation of the security threats on the Korean Peninsula," he added.

When asked if there is any sign North Korea plans to interfere in the US presidential election, Kim said, "The possibility is not high."

"There is a high chance that they would want to exaggerate their existence around the season of the U.S. presidential election before and after the election," he said.

The expected courses of action "could be either their launch of an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) or their seventh nuclear test," he said.