The first clash between Ukrainian and North Korean troops “opens a page” of instability, President Volodymyr Zelensky said

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the first battles between Ukrainian and North Korean troops “open a new page of instability in the world” after his defense minister reported a “small clash.”

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed in an interview with South Korean television that the first contact occurred – an apparent escalation of the conflict that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Mr. Zelensky, in an evening video message, thanked those around the world who he said responded to the dispatch of North Korean troops to Russia last month “not only with words… but also who are preparing actions in support of our defense.”

“The first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new page of instability in the world,” he said.

He said that Ukraine, acting together with the rest of the world, must “do everything to ensure that this Russian step to expand the war with real escalation fails.”

Mr Umerov told South Korean television KBS in an interview broadcast on Tuesday that there had been a “small clash” with North Korean troops.

“Yes, I think so. It’s an engagement,” Mr. Umerov said in English when asked whether there had been a clash.

The report, which included excerpts from the interview, quoted Mr. Umerov as saying that interaction had been small and not yet systematic in terms of mobilizing soldiers.

Troops in frontline areas

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that more than 10,000 North Korean troops have arrived in Russia, with a “significant number” in front-line areas including the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops staged an invasion in August.

Zelensky cited intelligence sources who said on Monday that there were 11,000 North Koreans in Russia.

The Pentagon said there were at least 10,000 North Korean troops in Kursk, but could not confirm suggestions that they were involved in the fighting.

The KBS report said Mr. Umerov told an interviewer that identification and other procedures would take time because the Russian military was trying to pass off the North Koreans as Buryats, a Mongolian ethnic group from the Siberian region.

Mr. Umerov said he expected a sharp increase in the number of North Koreans involved.

“(There are) already contacts, but in a couple of weeks we will see a more significant number and after that we will review and analyze it,” he said.

Expectations for North Korean troops to undergo months of training appear to have been reduced to one or two weeks to allow for faster deployment to the battlefield, he said.

Russia has not acknowledged North Korean troops are on its territory, but President Vladimir Putin last week did not deny reports of their presence.

He said that it was up to Russia to implement its defense pact with Pyongyang.

Reuters