July 25 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russia wanted to bring in 30,000 North Korean troops to take part in its more than four-year-old conflict and was already preparing to receive them.
Under a mutual defense pact, North Korea sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to Russia’s Kursk Region in 2024 to help Moscow beat back a major incursion into the region by Ukrainian forces.
“We also see Russia’s cooperation with North Korea. Russia wants to bring in another 30,000 North Korean troops,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “Preparations have been under way in Russia’s Voronezh region since June to receive them.”
Zelenskiy said North Korea was preparing to supply Russia with new launchers for ballistic missiles.
“This is a threat not only to Ukraine. Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war, improve its weapons and gain real combat experience in using them,” he said.
“All of this poses a threat to every country in Asia that lies within range of North Korean missiles.”
Zelenskiy vowed that Ukraine would respond to that threat.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr KozhukharEditing by Matthew Lewis)
