SEOUL, July 26 (AJP) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia is preparing to deploy another 30,000 North Korean troops to support its war in Ukraine, warning that the deepening military partnership poses a growing security threat beyond Europe.
In his nightly address posted on X, Zelensky said Moscow had been preparing since June to receive the additional North Korean forces in Russia's Voronezh region, which borders northeastern Ukraine.
"Russia wants to receive another 30,000 troops from North Korea," Zelensky wrote. "Since June, preparations have been underway in Russia's Voronezh region to receive them."
He also alleged that Pyongyang is preparing to transfer additional launchers for ballistic missiles to Russia.
"This is a threat not only to Ukraine," Zelensky said. "Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war, improve its weapons and gain real combat experience in using them. All of this poses a threat to every country in Asia within range of North Korean missiles."
The remarks come as military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang continues to deepen under a mutual defense treaty signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their summit in Pyongyang in June 2024.
North Korea is estimated to have dispatched about 14,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region beginning in late 2024 to help repel a major Ukrainian incursion, according to Ukrainian and Western intelligence assessments.
Kyiv has since warned that Pyongyang could expand its military contribution as Russia seeks to sustain its battlefield offensive.
South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies have previously assessed that North Korea has rotated forces into Russia in several waves, with the deployments including combat troops as well as engineering units. NK News, citing Ukrainian intelligence, reported that roughly 14,000 North Korean personnel remained stationed in Russia earlier this year after an estimated four deployments totaling about 20,000 troops.
The latest allegation follows North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui's visit to Russia earlier this month. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Putin thanked the North Korean leadership for its assistance in what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Neither Russia nor North Korea immediately commented on Zelensky's latest claim. The reported plan to deploy an additional 30,000 troops could not be independently verified.
If confirmed, the reinforcement would represent the largest single expansion of North Korea's military involvement in the conflict and underscore the increasingly strategic nature of the Moscow-Pyongyang partnership as the war enters its fifth year.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
