Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, Oct. 13, that North Korean troops are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. The allegations seem to confirm earlier reports on deepening ties between the allies.
In his address on Sunday, Zelenskyy said there is an “increasing alliance” between Moscow and Pyongyang, which have already entered an arms and technology agreement. Now, Zelenskyy said that the Kim Regime is sending troops as well.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang in June to announce stronger ties and a defense treaty with North Korea, including an agreement to defend each other in the event one is attacked.
A Ukrainian military official told The Washington Post that “several thousand” North Korean soldiers were training in Russia and could be sent to the front lines by the end of the year.
South Korea previously called the reports of North Korean troops helping Russia “highly likely.”
North Korea has denied the allegations, and the Kremlin called them “another hoax.”
Zelenskyy also used Sunday’s address to call for more support from Western allies as Russian forces make slow progress in eastern Ukraine, repeating his plea for the United States and other nations to lift restrictions on using their weapons to strike deep into Russia.
