Ukraine president says Russia to deploy 10,000 North Korean troops

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Thursday (Oct 17) to have intelligence that Russia is preparing to deploy 10,000 North Korean soldiers in the fight against Kyiv, calling it “the first step to a world war”.
Zelenskyy has previously accused North Korea of sending troops to Russia’s army but this was the first time he gave an exact figure.
He said that based on “information from our intelligence” an unspecified number of North Korean soldiers were already on “occupied Ukrainian territory from the side of Russian enemies”.
“We know (of) about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea that they are preparing to send fight against us,” he added, speaking to reporters in Brussels after talks with EU leaders.
The Ukrainian leader attended an EU leaders’ summit and a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels as he pressed for support for his “victory plan” to end the war against Russia.
Zelensky said the North Korean troops included “land forces” and “other tactical personnel”.
“This is the first step to a world war,” he warned, noting that Iran was also backing Russia with “drones and missiles”, a claim that Tehran has repeatedly denied.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “counting” on the North Korean soldiers because he was “afraid of mobilisation”.
Zelenskyy conducted a whirlwind tour of Western capitals earlier this month including Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome and London to promote his initiative.