LIMA: U.S. President Joe Biden is set to express "deep concern" regarding North Korea's recent troop deployment to Russia during an upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This meeting is scheduled to occur alongside the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru this week, as revealed by a senior U.S. administration official. According to Yonhap News Agency, Biden and Xi are slated to convene in Lima on Saturday. This encounter, potentially their final in-person summit as presidents, follows confirmations from both Seoul and Washington of North Korean troops actively engaging in combat against Ukrainian forces in Russia's western front-line Kursk region. During an online press briefing, a senior U.S. official stated, "I expect the president will express deep concern over the PRC support for Russia's war against Ukraine as well as the deployment of over 10,000 DPRK troops to Russia, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces." The official further noted g rowing apprehensions about the long-term stability of both Europe and the Pacific due to this deployment. The acronyms PRC and DPRK refer to the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, respectively. The dispatched North Korean troops have undergone training in eastern Russia, receiving Russian uniforms and equipment. They have been trained in artillery, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations, and basic infantry maneuvers, as per U.S. officials. Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the State Department, highlighted several challenges these troops face, including interoperability, language barriers, and command, control, and communications. This troop deployment has heightened security concerns for the United States, South Korea, and other nations, signifying a strengthening military alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow. Experts warn this could exacerbate the conflict in Ukraine and impact security dynamics on the Korean Peninsula. Calls have intensified for Bei jing to leverage its influence over Pyongyang to address this issue constructively. During the summit with Xi, Biden plans to evaluate progress in various areas of cooperation between Washington and Beijing since their last meeting in Woodside, California, including military communications and counternarcotics efforts. Biden is also expected to emphasize the significance of maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait and express concerns over China's activities around Taiwan and in the South China Sea. The upcoming summit marks the third in-person meeting between Biden and Xi since Biden's inauguration in January 2021. The presidents previously met during the Group of 20 summit in Bali in 2022 and the APEC summit in California last year.