On 30 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an interview with representatives from media outlets in Northern Europe that the international response to the presence of North Korean soldiers on the front lines is not strong enough, according to Ukrinform.
Amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, North Korea has supplied Moscow with at least 11,000 containers of ammunition, including approximately 2 million artillery rounds since 2023. Additionally, South Korea’s intelligence reports say Pyongyang has sent 3,000 troops to Russia, with plans to deploy 10,000 by December. According to the Ukrainian military, the first North Korean units, after training at Russia’s eastern grounds, have already arrived in Russia’s Kursk Oblast combat zone.
“The voice of the US, NATO, Western partners, the Global South, and China is not sounding as loudly as it should regarding the presence of North Korean troops on Russian territory. I consider this very dangerous.
It opens a new chapter in this war. It will be just like at the very beginning of Russia’s occupation of Crimea. There was silence from the West. No one wanted to react. I don’t know why, but everyone was afraid of escalation. They love to use this phrase: ‘to avoid escalation.’ And Putin, having tried this once with Crimea, realized that he could continue,” said Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president added that Russian leader Vladimir Putin tested such tactics with Donbas and achieved success.
“Donbas was occupied. And after eight years of occupying two Ukrainian territories, he launched a full-scale war. He always tests and experiments to see how it works. How will the West respond? The same applies to the North Korean soldiers,” noted Zelenskyy.
He emphasized the need for a decisive reaction.
“So far, we have heard reactions, but they are not strong enough. That is why Putin is testing, and I don’t know how many more soldiers will arrive from North Korea or Iran. There may be more,” claimed the Ukrainian president.
Among the possible Western responses to the North Korean soldiers on the front lines, Zelenskyy mentioned allowing the use of long-range weapons by partner countries to strike bases and airfield inside Russian territory.
Zelenskyy stated that currently Ukraine does not have the capability to stop North Korean troops while they are on Russian soil.
“We can only defend our land when they are destroying it, when they are already on our land, when they have occupied our land, when they have already killed our children or are trying to do so. So, only at that moment do we have permission to take action,” Zelenskyy added.
Related:
- Pentagon: No restrictions on US weapons use against North Korean forces
- South Korean intelligence confirms North Korean troops moved to Russian front lines
- Lithuania demands stronger NATO response to North Korean-Russian cooperation
- South Korea to send delegation to Ukraine this week over North Korean troop presence
- New research estimates North Korean arms supplies to Russia at $5.5 billion
