About 8,000 North Korean troops are stationed in Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said at a press conference on Thursday. According to him, Moscow is preparing to send these troops into combat against Ukraine in the coming days, The Guardian reports.

Blinken noted that North Korea has sent about 10,000 soldiers to Russia, who were initially trained at bases in the Far East. Most of them, he said, have now been moved to the Kursk region. Russia has trained the North Korean military in artillery, drone operations and the basics of infantry operations, indicating that they could be used on the front line.

“This deployment of North Korean forces shows that Russia is desperate,” Blinken said after meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterparts. He added that “Putin is throwing more and more Russians into the meat grinder he created in Ukraine. Now they are turning to North Korea, which is a clear sign of weakness.”

Blinken’s statement is the first confirmation from the US that foreign troops could be deployed on the Russian side in the war against Ukraine. Earlier, US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood warned that North Korean troops would likely “come back in body bags” if sent to Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly denied information about the deployment of the North Korean military, calling it “fake news”. At the same time, Putin did not deny the presence of North Korean troops in Russia, noting that the only important thing is how to implement the partnership agreement with Pyongyang.