Zelenskyy says N. Korean troops in Russia may join battlefield 'in a matter of days'
This file image captured from video footage aired by North Korea's official Korean Central TV shows Kim Yong-bok, center, suspected of leading North Korean troops deployed to Russia, taking part in a military parade in Pyongyang, Oct. 10, 2020. Yonhap
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country could soon be forced to fight North Korean troops as they could join the battlefield against Ukraine "in a matter of days."
Zelenskyy made the assessment Sunday in a post on social media platform X, amid reports of North Korean troops gathering in Russia's southwestern region of Kursk, where a major Ukrainian incursion took place in August.
"Each day of this war only proves one fact: Moscow is intent on continuing its aggression," he wrote. "It's why they're increasingly involving North Korea and in a matter of days, North Korean soldiers may join the battlefield against Ukraine."
"Ukraine could soon be forced to fight North Korean troops in Europe," he said.
The remarks came after Zelenskyy said last week North Korean soldiers are expected to be deployed to combat zones as early as Sunday and Monday.
Separately, Ukraine's military intelligence service said Russia is sending "mercenaries" from North Korea to a frontline area using trucks with civilian license plates.
This footage posted on X by the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security of Ukraine shows North Korean soliders receiving apparent Russian gear, Oct. 18. Yonhap
On Sunday, Russian police officers stopped a truck with civilian license plates carrying North Korean military personnel on the Kursk-Voronezh highway, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine said on its website, noting the driver did not have a "combat order."
Last week, South Korea's spy agency said 3,000 North Koreans have been sent to Russia, with about 10,000 expected to be deployed by December. The United States has also confirmed at least 3,000 North Koreans have been sent to eastern Russia this month.
Japan's Kyodo News has reported that Kim Yong-bok, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, had been in Russia as of last Thursday to oversee dispatched North Korean troops, citing a Ukrainian military source.
Kim is known as a close military aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
South Korea has vowed to take "phased measures" in response to the level of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, with President Yoon Suk Yeol saying Seoul could consider providing arms to Kyiv, in a possible shift from its policy of only sending humanitarian aid.
Seoul has also sent a high-level delegation to Brussels to brief the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on North Korean troop deployment to Russia on Monday. (Yonhap)