President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that North Korean officers are already in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and are training Russian soldiers.
Points of attention
- President Zelensky reported on the presence of the North Korean military in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which are training Russian soldiers.
- Putin, with the help of North Korean troops, plans to strengthen his position on the front in Ukraine, using them as an auxiliary contingent.
- Sending North Korean soldiers to Ukraine could be a source of valuable foreign currency for the Kim Jong Un regime and help strengthen its ties with Russia.
- The training of North Korean soldiers in Russia to participate in hostilities in the occupied territories of Ukraine indicates serious consequences for international security.
- The participation of the DPRK in the conflict in the east of Ukraine may require the reaction of the international community and the strengthening of sanctions against the countries that support the aggressors.
Zelensky spoke about the presence of North Korean troops on the Ukrainian border
The president said this during a press conference following his participation in the meeting of the European Council.
We have information from our intelligence... That this is really a big problem. First, North Korean officers are already in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and are training Russian soldiers. I don't know the number of officers. But intelligence data show that Russia is counting on such reinforcements, as it does not have time to mobilize, it is losing too much, losses on the battlefield. And he (Putin — ed.) knows that the mood is such that society is against mobilization.
Volodymyr Zelensky
President of Ukraine
That is why, according to Zelensky, Putin is looking for external support.
And I know that there is such an intention to train 10,000 soldiers from various branches of the military: land, land forces...
The president specified that Putin wants to involve not only the infantry, but also specialists of various branches of the military.
And what we know is that North Korea is already preparing a contingent to send them to fight against Ukraine. I was talking about it from the US. I have already spoken with a number of leaders that this is actually an official fact of confirmation that the second country is involved in the war and will fight alongside Russia as a contingent against Ukraine. You know that Iran has already provided Russia with missiles and drones, UAVs, but not a contingent. And here this is such a serious step in the war.
Why is the DPRK sending its army to the front in Ukraine
Sending North Korean soldiers to support the Russian Federation in the war against Ukraine could become a source of valuable "foreign currency" for Kim Jong-un's regime and further strengthen its ties with the Kremlin.
As the publication notes, according to an anonymous representative of Ukrainian military intelligence, "several thousand" North Korean soldiers are currently undergoing training in Russia and may be sent to the front in Ukraine by the end of the year.
According to Daily NK, North Korean soldiers are probably already present in Russia, helping to restore the occupied Donbass. According to the publication, Pyongyang sent about 150 new workers to participate in reconstruction works in the territories captured by Russia.
Back in 2022, Russian officials positively assessed the participation of North Korean workers in overcoming the labor shortage. The Russian ambassador to the DPRK, Oleksandr Matsegora, said that North Korean construction workers are important for the restoration of the social and infrastructural spheres of Donbas.
