Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds a Press Briefing

View Online Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds a Press Briefing Oct. 29, 2024 PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Good afternoon everyone. Just a few things at the top and I'll get right to your questions. So, per the readout that we issued last night, Secretary Austin spoke with Minister Galant yesterday to review Israeli operations and discuss opportunities for regional de-escalation. The Secretary reiterated the US commitment to a diplomatic arrangement in Lebanon that allows both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border as well as a hostage release and ceasefire deal in Gaza. During their call, Secretary Austin reaffirmed the United States ironclad support for the defense of Israel and made clear that the United States remains well postured to defend US personnel, allies and partners against attacks from Iran and Iranian backed partners and proxies. Separately, Secretary Austin spoke with Turkish Minister of National Defense Güler to express his condolences for the October 23rd terrorist attack in Ankara. The secretary acknowledged Türkiye's legitimate security concerns, discussed Türkiye's recent operation in Syria, and stressed the need to avoid civilian harm. He also reaffirmed the importance of close coordination between the United States and Türkiye to prevent any risk to US forces for the defeat ISIS mission. Additionally, Secretary Austin congratulated Minister Güler on the 101st anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic. Readouts of both calls are available on Defense.gov. Shifting gears, Secretary Austin will host Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Kim here at the Pentagon tomorrow for the 56 US-ROK Security Consultative Meeting. The two leaders will utilize the SCM to deepen US-ROK extended deterrence cooperation, modernize our alliance capabilities and strengthen our contributions to regional security. Then on Thursday, October 31st, Secretary Austin and Minister Kim will join Secretary of State Blinken and his ROK counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe, at the State Department for the sixth US-ROK Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting. The 2+2 meeting will align our diplomatic and defense efforts, ensuring that bilateral activities are synchronized to advance our alliance's shared values and interests. And finally, the Department will bid a fond farewell this Friday to Dr. Lester Martinez Lopez, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, who's retiring following a distinguished National Service career, which began in 1978 when he joined the US Army. Dr. Martinez Lopez is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness for all DOD Health and Force health protection policies, programs and activities. Thanks to the leadership of Dr. Martinez Lopez, the department has improved the medical readiness of our fighting forces and a ready medical force capable of meeting the needs of our warfighters, their families, retirees and all who are served by the military health system. On behalf of Secretary Austin and the entire Department of Defense, we congratulate and thank Dr. Martinez Lopez for his years of dedicated service to our nation and wish him all the best. Upon his retirement, Ms. Celine Mullen, currently the principal deputy assistant Secretary of defense for Health Affairs, will assume the role of acting assistant Secretary of defense for Health Affairs. With that, I'll be glad to take your questions. We'll start with AP, Lita. Q: Thanks, Pat. On the North Korean troops, can you give us an update on whether or not any of the North Korean forces have actually arrived in Kursk or whether any of them are actively engaged in any sort of combat with Ukraine? Is there any update to the 10,000 figure? And are you seeing more of the North Korean forces moving across Russia heading towards Ukraine? MR. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Lita. So a few things. As we highlighted earlier this week, we believe that the DPRK has sent approximately 10,000 soldiers in total to train in eastern Russia and that these troops will probably augment Russian forces near Ukraine over the next several weeks. A portion of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine towards Russia's Kursk Oblast near the border with Ukraine, approximately a couple thousand, with a smaller number already present in the Kursk region. We remain concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk. We continue to monitor closely and are consulting with our Ukrainian partners as well as other allies and partners. Q: Can you clarify, you said a couple thousand moving toward closer to Kursk, what's that, you said a small number already in the Kursk region— MR. RYDER: Right, indications that there's already a small number that are actually in the Kursk Oblast with a couple thousand more that are either almost there or due to arrive imminently. Again, we'll continue to—the rest at this time, of course training out in the East, but fully expect that they'll move in that direction at some point. Q: Can you sort of narrow that? Are you talking dozens, hundreds? MR. RYDER: I'm not going to go into specific numbers other than just to say at this point we assess it's a relatively small number. OK. Q: Two questions, both on North Korea here. Do you have a sense of what Russia is giving or offering North Korea in return for thousands of troops? And do you know if the idea came from a need from Russian President Vladimir Putin for more troops or was it an offer from North Korea that was accepted? Who initiated the idea? MR. RYDER: Yeah, it's certainly something that we're taking a closer look at in terms of what is the quid pro quo here between KJU and President Putin. As you well know, we've seen the relationship further deepening between the DPRK and Russia, which is of course concerning, to include the provision of munitions from North Korea to Russia to aid in their war effort. I think as Secretary Austin highlighted, however though this is an indication of the dire situation that Russia finds itself in, in terms of manpower on the front lines. They have experienced significant casualties in this war. And the fact that they now need to outsource for foreign troops to help support their forces inside Russia indicates that there's some serious questions in terms of their ability to continue to sustain their personnel requirements. So again, that's something that we'll continue to follow closely. Jennifer? Q: Do you have any evidence that these North Koreans are going to plan to go into Ukraine proper to fight? And can the Ukrainians use US weapons now to fire on the North Korean troops? Should the North Korean troops expect to be fired upon using US weapons if they arrive in Kursk or Ukraine? MR. RYDER: Well, as I highlighted, that's something we're keeping a close eye on. We are concerned that they do intend to employ these forces in combat against the Ukrainians or at least support combat operations against the Ukrainians in the Kursk region. So as of right now, it remains to be seen exactly how the Russians and the North Koreans will employ these forces. But as it relates to the use of weapons, first of all, I would highlight that the weapons and capabilities that the United States and other international partners have provided to Ukraine are Ukrainian weapons and Ukrainian capabilities. And we've been very clear that Ukraine is able to employ those capabilities to defend their sovereign territory from threats that are either emanating from across the border or inside Ukrainian territory. Q: And just to follow up on the SM-3s, is there any shortage that is being faced either by the Pentagon or the Navy in terms of these interceptor missiles? There are reports — the Wall Street Journal is reporting that there is a shortage. Is that true? MR. RYDER: Yeah, I've seen the press reports. As I'm sure you can appreciate, I'm not going to talk about our readiness levels or stockpiles other than to say as evidenced by decades and decades of global force management, I think we do a pretty good job of managing our capabilities around the world to ensure that we have what we need, where we need it to support not only our operations plans, but also crises and contingencies. And we've demonstrated that on multiple occasions throughout the Middle East, whether it's supporting the defense of Israel, protecting the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea or addressing threats throughout the Middle East and other places. So we have always made conscious decisions about how to best manage those forces around the world and manage our readiness levels. But needless to say, we are ready and prepared to support our requirements in support of our national security interests. Let me go to Dan. Q: Thank you, General. The NATO Secretary General went a bit farther in terms of how they described the North Korean movements in Russia. And that also came after a South Korean visit to NATO. Do you anticipate that the issue will come up in the delegation visit this week here? And do you think it's likely we may see additional downgrades of intelligence in coming days? MR. RYDER: I certainly expect this to be a topic of discussion between Secretary Austin and his counterpart during the meetings this week. As far as the NATO Secretary General's comments, I'm not sure I fully understand what you mean about went further. What did he say that went further? Q: He was point blank on North Korean troops being in Kursk. MR. RYDER: I just said that. I just said that there was North Korean troops in Kursk. Joe. Q: Thank you. On a different topic, I'm sorry. Have you seen any indications that Iran is preparing to retaliate against Israel? MR. RYDER: So Joe, certainly something we're keeping an eye on right now. There is that possibility and we have to be prepared for all contingencies. I think, again, as we've highlighted in our readouts with Secretary Gallant (sic), or Minister Gallant and Secretary Austin, we continue to remain committed to the defense of Israel and to be prepared should Iran opt to do something, but that's something we'll keep a close eye on. Q: When you say there is a possibility, this is something that's imminent? MR. RYDER: Again, I'm not going to characterize it. I think you've seen the comments from Iranian officials. I'm not going to have anything to provide beyond that other than to say fully aware of the tensions in the Middle East. And we are going to continue to support the defense of Israel from potential attacks by Iran and its proxies as well as the protection of our forces. Janne? Q: Thank you, General. A couple of questions about the Russia and North Korea and I will maybe follow up. And then the first question, North Korea has stockpiles, enough supplies in Russia to last three months and with the North Korean foreign minister visiting Russia for additional troops will be sent. What are the concerns of the United States about this? And can Ukraine use US weapons without restrictions? MR. RYDER: I think I already answered the second question. As for the concerns, again, I've highlighted that we remain concerned that Russia intends to use the DPRK soldiers in combat. Yeah. Q: Second question, reported by South Korean intelligence Office, there is possibility that North Korea will get tactical support from Russia in exchange for dispatching troops and launch ICBM at a normal angle toward the United States such as satellite launches. How do you assess this? MR. RYDER: Well, I won't speak to specific intelligence or capabilities, other than to say, to your colleague's earlier question, this is something that we continue to look at in terms of the relationship between Russia and North Korea and what kinds of benefit is North Korea deriving from that relationship. And so, again, we'll continue to monitor closely. Charlie? Q: Yeah. Thanks, General. I have two questions. First of all, do you have anything to add to the reports that the Israeli strikes against Iran a few days ago were successful in doing some serious damage to their air defenses? And somewhat related, I think we're at the halfway mark of the deadline, 30-day deadline to make sure that the Israelis are doing more to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Is there any evidence that they are making progress and how is that quantified? MR. RYDER: Yeah. Thanks, Charlie. As far as Israeli operations, I'll defer to them to talk about their operations. Certainly, we saw what they did in terms of striking military targets in Iran. To Joe's question, we continue to monitor to see what, if any, type of reaction Iran may make out of that. We obviously would like to see de-escalation throughout the region and a lowering of the temperature. So again, that's something we'll continue to keep an eye on. As far as the letter goes, I don't have any specific updates to provide other than as we've highlighted in the conversations between Secretary Austin and Minister Gallant. Humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza remains a priority and we'll continue to strongly push and advocate that the Israelis take that seriously. Q: But in terms of quantifying that, you want to see evidence. Is it two trucks, 200 trucks? What passes the line for them? MR. RYDER: Yeah, absolutely. I don't have a quantifiable number to give you other than much more aid needs to be getting into Gaza and that will continue to be a point that we hammer home with our Israeli partners. Luis? Q: Thank you. Follow on Charlie's point and then ask about Ukraine and UNRWA. Yesterday the Israeli Knesset passed two laws that restrict Israel's cooperation with UNRWA and inside Israel, but that is actually one of the ways that aid filters into Gaza. So how will that development impact the request that is being made in the letter? MR. RYDER: Yeah. As you've heard our State Department colleagues say we are deeply troubled by this legislation that would shutter the UNRWA operations. As you highlight, there are millions of Palestinians who rely on that aid and so implementing this legislation would pose significant risks for those that are dependent on that aid. And so we will continue to urge the government of Israel to pause implementation of the legislation. As you've highlighted the letter that Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken made quite clear that we're opposed to implementation of that legislation and that there could be consequences under US law and US policy for the implementation. So again, we'll continue to urge the government of Israel to ensure that UNRWA can effectively carry out its mission and facilitate humanitarian assistance. Q: So are you saying that they go hand in hand essentially, the 30-day implementation request by Israel regardless of any progress they had been making prior to these two laws being enacted means that we could see potential ramifications against Israel? MR. RYDER: Well, we made clear in that letter that there are some things that need to change immediately and there are some things that will take more time. I'm not going to get ahead of the process, but as was made very clear in the letter, the passage of that legislation could have implications under US law and US policy. That remains the case and so we'll keep you updated. Q: A quick one on Ukraine. Are there North Korean troops inside Ukraine right now? MR. RYDER: So we have no information right now to corroborate the reports that there are DPRK forces inside Ukraine. Q: And Russia is also launching some or putting in place a large scale nuclear exercise today or in short order. They are directly linking that to what they say, what they see as Western comments that they say are emboldening Ukrainian action by targeting inside of Russia. What is your response to that? And did they notify you that they would be undertaking these— MR. RYDER: —So my understanding, Luis, is that this is a regularly scheduled exercise, so no surprise there. We've not seen anything in terms of Russian strategic forces in its posture that would compel us to change our posture. And I'll just leave it there. OK. Yes, sir. Q: Thank you, General. What is your response to the Palestine security forces fighting against the Israeli Defense Force alongside Hamas? And how does the US oversee the Palestine security forces? And I have a follow up. MR. RYDER: So in terms of the security situation in, and I'm assuming you're talking about the West Bank? Yeah, so in the West Bank, again, we want to see a ratcheting down of tensions in the West Bank. I think we've been very clear in terms of our opposition to any type of settler violence or expansion of settlements. We'll continue to consult closely with our Israeli partners on how best to address that situation, but certainly, again, do not want to see temperatures ratcheting up. We do see a future for a role for the Palestinians to play in terms of security. But again, we'll continue to consult closely with partners in the region on that going forward. And you said you had a follow up? Q: Yeah. I just wanted to clarify that also there's a concern that the Palestinian security forces might be operating within Israel itself alongside Hamas. But I just wanted to clarify that. MR. RYDER: Yeah, I'm not tracking anything like that, no. Q: OK. Follow up on this would be, what is your response to UNRWA involvement in terror activity? MR. RYDER: Look, I'm not going to have anything beyond what I've said. We believe that UNRWA plays an important role in terms of providing aid to millions of Palestinians. And again, we'll continue to urge Israel to pause implementing the legislation that would potentially prevent that aid from getting to them. Thank you. Q: And I made that question in light of the State Department about Hamas connections. MR. RYDER: Yeah, I appreciate it. Tony. Q: Yeah. I have one North Korea question and one domestic question. What combat capability do these North Korean troops potentially bring since that nation hasn't been at war since the Korean War? Are these artillerymen, logisticians, some of their feared special forces? What MOS, in military parlance, are these troops? MR. RYDER: Yeah. Thanks, Tony. I mean this is something that we're going to continue to assess. Initial indications are that these troops will be employed in some type of infantry role, but again, what that could be remains to be seen. So we're going to continue to monitor closely. Q: Do you have a feel for what units they've come from though, whether they're infantry units or these are conscripts or hardened trained soldiers? MR. RYDER: Nothing that I'm prepared to pass along from the podium today. Q: More domestically, the Pentagon inspector general today put out a report saying that Boeing Corporation overcharged the Air Force on C-17 parts, for one, a laboratory soap dispenser like an 8,000 percent markup over what they could buy at a Home Depot or something like that. You've heard these tales before. Is this an example of price gouging? And what's the Pentagon's response to this report in terms of how well the Pentagon and the Air Force are managing tax dollars? MR. RYDER: Yeah. Thanks, Tony. Certainly aware of the IG report, its findings and its recommendations. I'm not going to offer a further characterization of the report or the specific contracting actions that it refers to. I will say that the Air Force, the Defense Contracting Management Agency and the Defense Pricing Contracting and Acquisition Policy Office all provided responses to those recommendations which are reflected in the report. So beyond that, I'm not going to have any additional information to provide. Yeah, I'm not going to have any more to characterize it. Tom? Q: Just to follow up on the UNRWA questions. When you say we'll continue to urge the government to pause implementation of the legislation, is that the Pentagon that's urging that and how long do you want to see the pause for? And did it come up in the conversation yesterday between Secretary Austin and Minister Gallant? MR. RYDER: Yeah, on your last question, I'm not going to have anything to provide beyond what we put out in the readout, Tom. And as I highlighted earlier, echoing the comments of our State Department colleagues. So I know this is a topic of discussion specifically between our State Department and the Israeli government. Thanks. Let me go to the phone here before I get in trouble. Let me go to Phil Stewart, Reuters. Q: Thank you. Just back to the Wall Street Journal story. It said that the large number of interceptors used to strike missiles and drones in the Middle East. I had raised concerns about US military readiness in the Pacific, so I just wanted to ask, is the Pentagon concerned about its military readiness in the Pacific at this point? MR. RYDER: No. We are fully prepared to support our national security commitments in the Indo-Pacific region. It is the priority theater, and we continue to believe that we have the right force posture capabilities to support our national defense as well as our allies and partners throughout the region. OK. Let me go to Mike Glenn, Washington Times. Q: My questions have been asked and answered. Thanks, Pat. MR. RYDER: All right. And then just last one here. Ostap, VOA. Q: Thank you, General. I have two questions on Ukraine. Can I follow up what Tony asks? Do you have any assessment of how capable North Korean troops would be as a military force in combat in a real battlefield situation? MR. RYDER: Again, I don't want to get into hypotheticals or speculate. This is something that will continue to watch. Obviously, there are reports about consternation among the Russian forces themselves on how best to integrate these forces into their own operations, to include obviously the language barrier, but this is something that we'll keep a close eye on. All right. Time for a few more. Constantin, then we'll go to John. Q: Thanks, Pat. Going back to sort of domestic questions for a second, election day is a week away. Has the Pentagon received any requests for National Guard troops to be augmenting security anywhere? And then looking forward past Election Day, have there been any requests for National Guard troops or US military troops in the days following? MR. RYDER: Yeah. Thanks, Constantin. I'm not aware of any requests. Certainly you know, fully cognizant of the importance of Election Day and certainly encourage all Americans to go out and exercise their right to vote. If and when we have updates in that regard, certainly we'll keep you posted. Q: Thank you. MR. RYDER: Thank you. John. Q: Thank you, General. About Secretary Austin's phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Güler. According to the Turkish intelligence, the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Ankara were coming from north Syria and the Turkish Air Force have hit some targets in that region, which is mostly controlled by the YPG forces that trained and supported by you. Were there any details that you could share with us about Türkiye asking your support in order to fight those terrorist groups in these areas? Can you give us some details about the phone call? MR. RYDER: Yeah, thanks. Beyond what we put in the readout, John, there was, again, an acknowledgment of Türkiye's legitimate security concerns as it related to the recent terrorist attack. My understanding, just based on those press reports, was that was attributed to PKK, which of course the United States views as a terrorist organization. I think the headline here is that the two leaders remained committed to keeping an open line of communication and supporting one another, particularly as it relates to being two valued NATO allies and partners. And so as we highlighted in the readout, a lot of that entails maintaining frequent and open communication regarding our forces that are operating in Syria, conducting the defeat ISIS mission, as well as Türkiye's operations, doing what it needs to do to address its legitimate security concerns. So I'll just leave it there. Jared. Q: General, just to follow up on that. The readout from the call between Secretary, Austin and Defense Minister Güler, as you noted, stressed the need to avoid any civilian harm. Does the department condemn Türkiye's strikes on electrical oil and water infrastructure in northeast Syria? And what is the US doing to mitigate the harm to civilians that's being caused by that? MR. RYDER: Well, look, Jared, again, as the readout highlighted, it's important to keep lines of communication open and good coordination between our forces that are operating in that area. And so the two, the Secretary and the Minister remain committed to doing that. We have good coordination, good communication with our Turkish allies and we'll continue to do that going forward. A couple more. Noah. Q: A couple cleanup things on the North Korean troops. You mentioned that the concern is that these could be used for infantry. Is that the case for those troops that are already in or heading to Kursk right now. MR. RYDER: Writ large, that's kind of how we would assess this group of approximately 10,000 forces. Q: And do you assess that all 10,000 will head to Kursk eventually or that there could be multiple operational imperatives for them? MR. RYDER: I mean, it certainly could be the case, but indications right now are that they'll move in the next few weeks closer to Ukraine. But again we'll keep an eye out on that. Q: And then switching gears a bit, the Secretary has discussed that there is a window of opportunity for de-escalation specifically between Israel and Lebanon, given the attacks recently in Beirut and then in southern Lebanon. Is that window still open in the Secretary's point of view? And does he feel satisfied with the steps taken to secure some sort of diplomatic resolution? MR. RYDER: The window is still open, and I think if you were talking to the Secretary, he would tell you the window for diplomacy is always open. This is not an easy problem to solve for all the reasons that are obvious to you and everyone in this room. But it's also something that's incredibly important, not only for the region but for international security and stability. And so yes, we will continue to capitalize on this moment in time and I know, for example, the State Department as well as the White House are also actively engaged on that front. Thanks. Last question. Yes, sir. Q: Yeah, General, I'm just going to follow up about Lebanon. Regarding to the readout, the call between Secretary Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Secretary Austin, he reiterated the US commitment to a diplomatic arrangement in Lebanon. So do you believe now it's the time to start this arrangement, or you think as DOD, that Israel needs more time to complete their operation in Lebanon to maybe to meet some things they want as a result of these operations or now this is the time to start this arrangement? Thank you. MR. RYDER: Yeah, I mean, again as I highlighted, the Secretary reiterated our commitment to a diplomatic arrangement in Lebanon. And so we do believe that there is a window of opportunity here to capitalize on the situation and get to a diplomatic resolution as quickly as possible. So thank you. Thanks very much, everybody.

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