Russia to deploy 10,000 N Korean troops in Ukraine: Zelensky

BRUSSELS, Belgium: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Thursday to have intelligence that Russia is preparing to deploy 10,000 North Korean soldiers in the fight against Kyiv, calling it “the first step to a world war”.

Zelensky has previously accused North Korea of sending troops to Russia´s army but this was the first time he gave an exact figure.

He said that based on “information from our intelligence” an unspecified number of North Korean soldiers were already on “occupied Ukrainian territory from the side of Russian enemies”.

“We know (of) about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea that they are preparing to send fight against us,” he added, speaking to reporters in Brussels after talks with EU leaders.

Western officials said they were aware of the reports, but were treating them with caution at this stage.

“We are tracking the possible deployment of North Korean troops to Russia,” one official told reporters.

“North Korea has for quite some time now provided significant artillery munitions to Russia to support the war. And this is a new body of reporting that we´re tracking.” —AFP