Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Monday that North Korea could be planning to send more troops and weapons to aid Russia’s army after more than 3,000 soldiers from the hermit kingdom have been killed and wounded while fighting in Ukraine.
“There are risks of North Korea sending additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army,” Zelensky said Monday after receiving a report from his top military commander. “We will have tangible responses to this.”
Zelensky cited a much higher number of casualties — some 3,000 — among the North Korean troops than previously reported by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, which listed the number at 1,100 with 100 dead.
The Ukrainian president said his estimate cites preliminary data.
Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops among its own fighters battling Ukrainians and Zelensky previously said some Russian soldiers were burning the faces off their dead Korean colleagues.
“Russia is not only involving North Korean soldiers in assaults against Ukrainian positions, but also trying to hide the losses of these people,” Zelensky said last week.
“The Russians are also trying to literally burn the faces of the killed North Korean soldiers,” he added.
North Korea initially denied reports that it had citizens fighting for Russia in Ukraine before saying that deployment was legal.
An estimated 12,000 North Korean troops have already been sent to fight for Russia, according to Ukrainian and allied assessments.
Pyongyang is also planning to send more weapons for Russian soldiers — including suicide drones — on top of the 240mm multiple rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled howitzers gifted to Putin’s army, according to Seoul.
Zelensky pleaded for more support from allies in the wake of North Korea’s meddling in the conflict.
“For the world, the cost of restoring stability is always much higher than the cost of effectively pressuring those who destabilize the situation and destroy lives,” Zelensky said.
With Post wires
