Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that North Korean troops are poised to join Russian forces in Ukraine’s ongoing conflict, with their deployment likely to begin between Sunday and Monday. This alarming development further escalates the nearly three-year war and introduces new geopolitical complexities.
Western officials have raised concerns about the deployment, warning that North Korea’s involvement could extend the conflict’s impact beyond Europe and into the Indo-Pacific region. The White House confirmed that top security advisers from the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have urged Russia and North Korea to halt actions that deepen the war’s security implications.
According to U.S. intelligence, around 3,000 North Korean soldiers have already arrived in Russia for training, with Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) estimating that approximately 12,000 troops—including 500 officers and three generals—will participate. Some of these troops have been identified in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces recently gained territory.
Zelenskyy called the deployment an “obvious escalation” by Russia. He also cancelled a planned visit by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Kyiv, following public outrage over Guterres’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan.
North Korea had previously supplied ammunition to Russia under a defense pact, but the deployment of troops marks a significant escalation in the conflict, raising fears of a broader war.
Further developments are being closely monitored by Ukrainian authorities and international allies.
