North Korean troops in Russia. Commentary by Orientalist Leonid Petrov

According to the press secretary of the US Department of Defense Patrick Ryder, several thousand soldiers from North Korea have headed to the Kursk region of Russia, and some of them have already arrived. We asked for comment to orientalist Leonid Petrov, dean of the International College of Management in Sydney and a research fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers march during a mass rally on Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang on September 9, 2018. Source: Getty, AFP / Ed Jones

Leonid A. Petrov (PhD) Acting Dean, The International College of Management, Sydney Source: Supplied / Supplied by Leonid Petrov