Zelensky warns 10,000 North Korean troops preparing to join Russian forces
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky his government has intelligence information that 10,000 North Korean troops are preparing to join Russian forces in the fight against his country.
Zelensky, speaking at a press conference with new Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, described the deployment as a āfirst step to the world warā.
The Ukrainian president said that the North Korean troops include infantry, land forces and āother technical personnelā.
āFrom our intelligence, weāve got information that North Korea sent tactical personnel and officers to Ukraine on temporary occupied territories, and they are preparing on their land 10,000 soldiers, but they didnāt move them already to Ukraine or to Russia,ā Mr Zelenskyy said.
Mr Rutte said the allies āhave no evidence that North Korean soldiers are involved in the fightā.
He continued: āBut we do know that North Korea is supporting Russia in many ways, weapons supplies, technological supplies, innovation, to support them in the war effort. And that is highly worrying.ā
Pyongyang has already provided large amounts of defence material including artillery shells and ballistic missiles to Russia during the war, but the deployment of combat soldiers would be a drastic escalation of support.
The move would reflect an infantry war of attrition that is testing Russiaās ability to replenish fallen soldiers with competent replacements.
On 7 October the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) issued an assessment of the war that estimated that Russia lost, on average, 1,271, soldiers each day during September. Itās the highest estimated monthly casualty rate of the war, well above September 2023ās daily estimated casualty rate of 500.
āRussiaās casualty rate will likely continue to average above 1000 a day for the rest of 2024,ā the statement read.
It noted that the increase in casualty rate is āalmost certainly due to the extension of the combat zone to include both Kharkiv and Kursk military operations.ā
The MOD assessed that āsince the start of the conflict Russia had likely suffered 648,000 casualtiesā. Itās believed that Ukraine has suffered roughly half that number of casualties.
On Thursday head of the Ukrainian Defence Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov told military blog The War Zone that he had intelligence indicating that about 11,000 North Korean soldiers were already training in Russia, and that the first 2,600 North Korean soldiers will soon be sent to the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian forces hold territory.
Earlier this week White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters: āThis idea of North Korean soldiers fighting on behalf of Russia, we believe, if true, would mark a significant increase in the DPRK and the Russia defense relationship.ā