Ukraine says Nokor troops in Russia ‘combat zone’
KYIV—Ukraine said Thursday that North Korean troops have arrived in the “combat zone” in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Moscow is trying to push back Ukrainian forces.
North Korea—with whom Russia signed a mutual defense pact—is already widely believed to be arming Moscow for its invasion but troops on the ground would mark a new escalation in the conflict.
“The first units of the DPRK military … have already arrived in the combat zone of the Russian-Ukrainian war,” Ukraine’s military intelligence said, adding they had been “recorded” in Kursk on Wednesday.
Ukraine said the number of deployed North Koreans in Russia was about “12,000” troops, without specifying how many of them were in the Kursk region.
‘Never doubted’
Thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent for training in Russia, according to the United States and South Korea.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin—who signed a mutual defense pact with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June—did not deny the reports.
“Russia never doubted that the DPRK is serious about Russian cooperation, we are in cooperation with our North Korean friends,” Putin said after hosting a summit of emerging economies.
“What we will do is our business,” he said.
The strongman leader then appeared to mock satellite images which purportedly showed North Korean troops on Russian soil.
“Images are a serious thing. If there are images they must show something.”
Putin was speaking hours after lawmakers in Russia’s lower house of parliament voted unanimously to ratify a treaty with North Korea that provides for “mutual assistance” if either party faces aggression.
The treaty is due to be fully ratified by the upper house.
‘Provocation’
Russia claims it has taken back a string of villages from Ukrainian forces in Kursk, but has not managed to push back Ukrainians out of its territory.
Putin said Thursday that Moscow’s forces were “moving forward” there and that they had blocked Ukrainian “units invading the Kursk region.”
Russia, under massive international sanctions, has hugely warmed ties with isolated Pyongyang since sending troops to Ukraine.
South Korea said Thursday the presence of North Korea’s troops in Europe would mark a major escalation.
President Yoon Suk-yeol called the deployment a “provocation that threatens global security beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe,” after talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
South Korea, one of the world’s top 10 weapons exporters, has long resisted calls from its allies to supply Kyiv with weapons.
But it has hinted it could review this policy in light of North Korea’s actions and Yoon said Thursday that Seoul would “take necessary actions in cooperation with the international community” to respond.
A South Korean official from the president’s office earlier said that Seoul would “support (Ukraine) through defensive weaponry, and if things get out of line, we could consider sending offensive weapons.”
