North Korean soldiers who were hired to fight for Vladimir Putin but deserted while on the front lines could be used in offensive operations against Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine’s main intelligence directorate has said Russia is training more than 11,000 troops from North Korea for the war in Ukraine so they are ready for combat operations starting next month, in claims backed by South Korean intelligence.

The prospect of Pyongyang being involved in Putin’s large-scale invasion has raised international alarms about the threat of escalation.

Last week it was reported that forty North Korean personnel were left in the forest area of ​​the Khomutovsky district of the Kursk region, without food or instructions for further plans. A group of eighteen left their positions without permission to search for their Russian commanders, but were found and detained.

All 40 North Korean personnel have been transferred to the Lgov district of the Kursk region for further involvement in offensive operations, Ukrainian newspaper Hromadske said, citing an unnamed Ukrainian intelligence official. Ukrainian outlet Babel also reported the claims.

“Russia may throw eighteen North Korean soldiers into the ‘meat’ attack, who previously tried to escape from positions in the Kursk region but were detained by the Russians,” Eastern European news channel Nexta said.

“Flesh attack” refers to what Ukraine calls Russian operations, in which insufficiently trained personnel are sent to storm the combat zone, resulting in very high casualty rates.

Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian and Russian defense ministries for comment.

British defense officials said Russian forces suffered a huge spike in casualties in September, delivering the highest monthly average of dead and wounded soldiers since the start of the war.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said North Korean soldiers were given Russian military uniforms and Russian-made weapons and given a false declaration that they were residents of Russia’s Yakutia and Buryatia regions.

Amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul summoned the Russian ambassador on Monday and called on Pyongyang to immediately withdraw its soldiers from Russia, saying their presence violates the United Nations Charter and threatens South Korea’s security.

NATO and the United States have not confirmed that North Korean troops fought for Russia. However, alliance chief Mark Rutte said on Monday that such a deployment would significantly escalate the conflict.

When contacted for comment, the US State Department referred to the issue Newsweek to comments from spokesperson Matthew Miller. Miller told reporters last week that if this were true, “it would represent a significant increase in the relationship between these two countries.” “a new level of despair by Russia.”