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Western leaders say North Korea has sent roughly 10,000 soldiers to bolster Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, a move Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says risks escalating the conflict beyond Ukrainian borders.
“There is only one conclusion — this war is internationalized,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram Tuesday, reacting to the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia.
Officials across Europe and the U.S. cautioned that North Korea’s involvement in a European war could stoke tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, emphasized that Pyongyang’s deployment of troops represents an escalation that runs counter to China’s official position on the war.
“North Korean actions, from arms exports to sending troops to Russia, are escalating, expanding, and provocative,” Stubb told reporters.
In a conversation with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Zelenskyy said about 3,000 North Korean troops are stationed near Ukraine’s front line, with expectations that their numbers could rise to 12,000.
The Pentagon reported Tuesday that a “relatively small number” of North Korean forces are currently positioned in Russia’s Kursk region, where Russian troops have struggled against Ukrainian incursions. According to spokesman Major General Pat Ryder, several thousand additional North Korean troops are en route to the area.
South Korea, which has maintained close communication with NATO, the U.S., and the European Union over these developments, recently warned it may supply arms to Ukraine in response to Pyongyang’s involvement.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang announced a visit by its top diplomat to Moscow, signaling further deepening of ties with Russia. The Korean peninsula remains tense as North Korea persists in weapons testing, prompting South Korea and the U.S. to expand their military exercises.
In Ukraine, Russian airstrikes hit Kyiv and Kharkiv overnight, killing four people and injuring 15, according to local officials. Russian forces are also intensifying pressure on Ukrainian defenses in the eastern Donetsk region, with the Russian Defense Ministry claiming control of several areas.
[Information sourced from Euronews]
