About 11,000 North Korean troops have already arrived at the Russian border in Kursk, according to Kiev on Monday, amid fears they will be sent to Ukraine.
“We see an increase in the population of North Korea, but we do not see an increase in the response of our partners. Unfortunately, “said the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his video message this evening.
He said this information was based on the findings of Ukrainian intelligence.
Kiev thinks that North Korean troops will soon be sent by Russia against Ukraine, although UN officials have also said that they could be deployed behind the front line to carry out transport operations, for example.
It remains unclear whether North Korean troops would be sent to fight on Ukrainian territory or in Russian territories controlled by Ukraine, including parts of Kursk.
Zelensky described Ukraine’s breakthrough in Kursk, which began in August, as a success, saying a “security zone” had been built along the Russia-Ukraine border and new Russian prisoners had been taken for future exchange.
In this attack, Ukrainian forces seized a large part of Russia, apparently in the hope that the Russians would withdraw forces east of Donetsk and Luhansk.
“This helped a lot in the release of our people from captivity in Russia,” said Zelensky.
The West has described the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia as a major escalation of the conflict.
That comes as observers say Ukrainian forces are suffering heavy losses of life and material in their operations on Russian territory.
Putin receives the North Korean minister
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in the Kremlin for talks.
“Today is our national holiday, and meeting good friends on holidays is a good tradition,” Putin said in greeting. The Kremlin did not disclose the details of their conversation.
North Korea supports Moscow in the Russian war in Ukraine, launched in 2022. Choe last visited the Kremlin in January.
On Friday, Choe told his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that North Korea will help Russia in the war until victory.
On Monday he presented greetings from leader Kim Jong Un to Putin. North Korea has been divided internationally because of its nuclear weapons tests. North Korea has also been widely criticized for supplying weapons to Russia. Russia is under sanctions because of its war with Ukraine.
Putin and Kim signed a cooperation agreement between the two countries during a visit to North Korea this summer, which also provides for mutual military assistance. The Russian president has recently said that the details of the agreement have yet to be clarified.
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