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North Korean soldiers have clashed with Ukrainian troops for the first time, Ukraine’s top officials have revealed. <\/p>\n
In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said a “small group” of North Korean soldiers were attacked.<\/p>\n
Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who had earlier condemned the West’s lack of response to the North Korean troops, said these “first battles with North Korea open a new chapter of instability in the world”. <\/p>\n
Seoul, however, said it “does not believe [troops on both sides] engaged in direct combat”, but that there was an “incident” involving a small number of North Korean soldiers “near the frontline”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Ukraine says an estimated 11,000 North Korean soldiers were in the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian troops have a foothold. <\/p>\n
In recent weeks, South Korean and US intelligence as well as Nato have said that they have seen evidence of North Korean troops being involved in Russia’s war. <\/p>\n
But Moscow and Pyongyang have so far not responded directly to any of the allegations. <\/p>\n
Ukraine’s top counter-disinformation official Andriy Kovalenko first said in a Telegram post on Monday that North Korea’s “first military units… [had] already come under fire in Kursk”. <\/p>\n
In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS, Rustem Umerov confirmed this, saying he expects a “significant number” of the North Korean troops to be engaged in combat, though he added it was “so far just small contacts, not full-scale engagement”. <\/p>\n
Most of them are still undergoing training, he added.<\/p>\n
“They’re wearing Russian uniforms, they’re undergoing tactical training, and they’re being deployed under various commands of the Russian army on the front lines,” Umerov said.<\/p>\n
He said it was likely that five units, each consisting of around 3,000 soldiers, would be deployed across the battlefield. <\/p>\n
He did not mention if there were any casualties. <\/p>\n
In a daily video address on Wednesday, Zelensky called on Ukraine “together with the world… [to do] everything to make this Russian step toward expanding the war… a failure. Both for them, and for North Korea.”<\/p>\n
Reports of such a move by North Korea have also alarmed the South, raising tensions between the two sides. <\/p>\n
Late last month, Seoul had summoned Russia’s ambassador, seeking the “immediate withdrawal” of North Korean troops from Ukraine. It also warned that it was considering directly supplying arms to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Analysts have said that Pyongyang could be paid, or may be given access to Russian military technology in exchange for the troops.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Russian lawmakers will vote to ratify a mutual defence treaty with North Korea, first proposed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s lavish visit to Pyongyang<\/a> in June.<\/p>\n It pledges that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n