Ukraine’s top officials revealed that North Korean soldiers clashed for the first time with Ukrainian troops.
In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS Rustem Umerov, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem said that a “small” group of North Korean soldiers was attacked.
US officials told Reuters that North Korean troops engaged in combat in the Kursk area of Russia on the 4th November.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s leader, who had previously condemned the West for its lack of response towards the North Korean troops said that these “first battles” with North Korea “open a new chapter in world instability”.
Seoul, however said that it “doesn’t believe [troops from both sides] engaged directly in combat”, but there was an “incident”, involving a few North Korean soldiers near the frontline.
Ukraine claims that approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers are in the border region of Kursk, where Ukrainian troops hold a foothold.
In recent weeks, South Korean, US and Nato intelligence agencies have claimed to have seen evidence that North Korean troops are involved in the Russian war.
Moscow and Pyongyang, however, have not yet responded directly to the allegations.
Ukraine’s top counter-disinformation official Andriy Kovalenko first said in a Telegram post on Monday that North Korea’s “first military units… [had] already come under fire in Kursk”.
Rustem Umerov, in an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS confirmed this. He said he expected a “significant” number of North Korean troops to engage in combat. However, he added that it was only “small contacts, not a full-scale engagement”.
He added that most of them were still in training.
“They are wearing Russian uniforms and they are undergoing tactical training. They’re deployed under different commands of the Russian Army on the frontlines,” Umerov said.
He said that it was likely five units, each with around 3,000 soldiers would be deployed on the battlefield.
He did not say if there had been any casualties.
In a video message he delivered every day on Wednesday, Zelensky urged Ukraine to “do everything… with the rest of the world… to make this Russian move toward expanding the war… an utter failure.” Both for them and for North Korea.”
Reports of a similar move by North Korea also alarmed South Korea, raising tensions between both sides.
Seoul summoned the Russian ambassador late last month to demand that North Korean troops be “immediately withdrawn” from Ukraine. It also warned it was considering directly providing arms to Ukraine.
Analysts have suggested that Pyongyang may be paid or given access to Russian technology in exchange for its troops.
On Wednesday, Russian lawmakers are voting to ratify the mutual defence treaty between Russia and North Korea. The treaty was first proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his lavish visit to Pyongyang last June.
It promises that Russia and North Korea would help each other if either country was to “aggress” against the other.
Read More @ www.bbc.com