Ukraine said it fought with North Korean troops for the first time

North Korean soldiers have clashed with Ukrainian troops for the first time, senior Ukrainian officials said.

In an interview with South Korean television channel KBS, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that a “small group” of North Korean soldiers were attacked.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who has previously condemned the West’s lack of response to North Korean troops, said these “first battles with North Korea open a new chapter of instability in the world.”

Seoul, however, said it “does not believe (troops from both sides) engaged in direct combat” but that there was an “incident” involving a small number of North Korean soldiers “close to the front lines.”

Ukraine says about 11,000 North Korean soldiers were in the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian troops have beachheads.

In recent weeks, South Korean and US intelligence and NATO have said they have seen evidence of North Korean troops participating in the war with Russia.

However, Moscow and Pyongyang have not yet responded directly to any of the accusations.

Ukraine’s top counter-disinformation official, Andrei Kovalenko, said for the first time on Monday in a Telegram post that “the first military units of North Korea… (have) already come under fire in Kursk.”

In an interview with South Korean television channel KBS, Rustem Umerov confirmed this, saying that he expects a “significant number” of North Korean troops to participate in the fighting, although he added that these are “only small contacts for now, not full-scale interaction.” “.

Most of them are still undergoing training, he added.

“They wear Russian uniforms, undergo tactical training and are sent under various commands of the Russian army to the front lines,” Umerov said.

It is likely that five units, each consisting of about 3,000 soldiers, will be deployed to the battlefield, he said.

He did not specify whether there were casualties.

In a daily video message on Wednesday, Zelensky called on Ukraine “together with the world… (to do) everything to ensure that this step by Russia to expand the war… turns out to be a failure. Both for them and for North Korea.”

Reports of similar moves by North Korea have also alarmed the South, increasing tensions between the two sides.

Late last month, Seoul summoned the Russian ambassador, demanding the “immediate withdrawal” of North Korean troops from Ukraine. He also warned that he was considering the possibility of direct arms supplies to Ukraine.

Analysts say Pyongyang could be paid or given access to Russian military technology in exchange for troops.

Russian lawmakers will vote Wednesday to ratify a mutual defense treaty with North Korea first proposed during Luxurious visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang in June.

He promises that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country.