“If North Korea can interfere in the war in Europe, then the pressure on this regime is definitely not enough,” the Ukrainian president believes.
Volodymyr Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky reported that there is information about the training of two units of military personnel from the DPRK by the Russians.
He said this in an evening video address.
“In particular, we have information about the training of two units of military personnel from North Korea – maybe even two brigades of 6 thousand people. And this is a challenge. But we know how to respond to this challenge. And it is important that partners do not hide from this challenge. All partners,” the head of state said.
The President also said that everyone in the world is “equally interested in ending the war, not continuing it,” so “together we must stop Russia and its accomplices.”
“If North Korea can interfere in the war in Europe, then the pressure on this regime is definitely not enough. And if Russia can still make this war bigger and longer, then everyone in the world who still does not help force Russia to peace is really helping Putin fight. Criminals must be stopped. We expect a tough, concrete reaction from the world. Preferably not just in words,” Zelensky added.
North Korea and its soldiers in the Russian army: what is known
- The KyivPost publication, citing intelligence sources, reported that on October 3, as a result of a missile strike by the Defense Forces on an enemy concentration near Donetsk, 20 servicemen were killed, six of whom were North Korean officers. Three more DPRK representatives were wounded.
- Last week, a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that several thousand North Korean troops were being trained in Russia and could likely be deployed to the front lines in the future.
- Vladimir Zelensky subsequently confirmed that North Korean officers were already in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. According to the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kirill Budanov, 11,000 North Korean troops are currently training in Russia, and some will be deployed to the Kursk region.
- On October 18, the Strategic Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine showed a video of North Korean soldiers receiving Russian equipment at one of the Russian training grounds.
- On the same day, South Korean President Yun Sok-yol convened an emergency meeting due to the movement of DPRK troops to Russia. deployment of forces. We are talking about 12 thousand soldiers, including representatives of elite units.
- North Korean soldiers are currently stationed, in addition to Vladivostok, in Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk, where they are integrated into Russian military units. The North Koreans were given Russian uniforms and were also given fake IDs that would pass them off as Russians.
- The Chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee Mike Turner sent an open letter to President Joe Biden regarding information about Russia's involvement in the war in Ukraine from North Korea.
- France believes that the involvement of the DPRK military in the war in Ukraine will provoke a serious escalation.
- South Korea is considering sending observers to monitor the DPRK troops in Ukraine.
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