Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in Russia’s Kursk region and warned that Pyongyang could send more personnel and equipment to Moscow’s army.
“There is a risk that North Korea will send additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army,” Zelensky said on X after receiving a report from his top military commander Oleksandr Syrsky.
“We will give concrete answers to this,” said Zelensky.
The estimate of North Korean casualties is higher than that of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in Seoul, who said on Monday that at least 1,100 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded.
The assessment was consistent with a briefing by South Korea’s spy service last week, which reported about 100 dead and another 1,000 injured in the region.
Zelensky said he was citing preliminary data. Reuters could not independently verify reports of combat casualties.
According to reports, 12,000 soldiers have already been deployed
Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Koreans on its side. Pyongyang initially dismissed reports of the troop buildup as “fake news,” but a North Korean official said such a troop buildup was legal.
According to Ukrainian and allied estimates, North Korea has sent around 12,000 soldiers to Russia.
Some of them were deployed to fight in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine still has a chunk of land after a major cross-border raid in August.
JCS added that it had discovered signs that Pyongyang was planning to produce suicide drones to be shipped to Russia, in addition to the 240mm multiple rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled howitzers it has already delivered.
Kiev continues to push its allies for a tougher response as the transfer of war experience and military technologies by Moscow and Pyongyang poses a global threat.
“For the world, the cost of restoring stability is always much higher than the cost of effectively putting pressure on those who destabilize the situation and destroy lives,” Zelensky said.
