As part of its recently signed mutual aid pact with Russia, North Korea is planning to send forces into in Ukraine as early as next month, according to Reuters.

The agreement calls for Pyongyang to send construction and engineering forces to Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine for rebuilding work. The outlet cited a South Korean government official quoted by the South Korean TV Chosun cable network. There was no indication of how many personnel would be involved or the exact nature of their work.

Regardless of what they do or where they go, those forces would be “cannon fodder”, the Pentagon’s top spokesman said Tuesday.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder was responding to a question about the Russia-North Korea agreement. Ryder said North Korea should think twice about fighting in Ukraine.

“That’s certainly something to keep an eye on”, he told reporters about the potential for North Korean troops to set foot in Ukraine. “I think that if I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my choices on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine. And we’ve seen the kinds of casualties that Russian forces – but again, something that we’ll keep an eye on”.