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Ukrainian officials said on Monday that Ukrainian troops had fired on North Korean soldiers in combat for the first time since Russia sent troops to the country’s western Kursk region.
The clash marks the first direct intervention by a foreign military since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, and marks the escalation of what was already Europe’s largest ground war since World War II. be.
“The first military units of North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) have already come under fire in Kursk,” Andriy Kovalenko, the National Security Council’s top official in countering disinformation in Ukraine, said on Telegram. A senior Ukrainian intelligence official confirmed military involvement to the Financial Times, but declined to provide further details.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sibikha said in Kiev that he had discussed with visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Barbok the “need for decisive action” in response to North Korea’s deepening involvement in the war.
“We call on Europe to recognize that the North Korean military is (waging) a war of aggression against sovereign states in Europe,” Sibiha said at a press conference.
The United States on Monday accused Russia and China of “shamelessly protecting” and emboldening North Korea at the United Nations Security Council. South Korea and the European Union also condemned the deployment and expressed concern that Russia could reward North Korea with transfers of nuclear and ballistic technology.
Another senior Ukrainian official told the FT that Russia is already providing North Korea with military technology and “finance” to support its missile program.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Moscow Kremlin on Monday.
Choi delivered greetings from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and signed an agreement with President Putin in June that included provisions for mutual security assistance.
The foreign minister said last week that North Korea “under the wise leadership of the honorable President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, will ensure that the Russian military and people will achieve a great victory in the sacred struggle to protect their sovereign rights and security.” There’s no doubt about it.” their condition.”
Putin has not acknowledged the deployment to North Korea, but hinted at it last month, suggesting it fell under the treaty’s security provisions.
U.S. and South Korean officials last week confirmed Ukraine’s assessment that about 8,000 North Korean troops were sent to Kursk last month to help push Ukrainian forces out of territory Russian forces have occupied since August. Confirmed. Senior Ukrainian intelligence officials told the FT that the troops were in barracks about 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and were preparing to enter combat within “a few days.”
Kiev, Washington and Seoul announced that North Korea has sent a total of about 12,000 troops, including 500 officers and three generals, to Russia for the ongoing war effort. The remaining units are in Russia’s Far East and are undergoing training.
The White House said that if North Korea were to join the fight against Ukraine, they would become a “legitimate military target.”
In a speech Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had received word from the military and foreign intelligence services that 11,000 North Korean troops were currently stationed in the Kursk region. “We are seeing an increase in North Korea’s military, but unfortunately we are not seeing an increase in response from partner countries,” he said.
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A senior Ukrainian intelligence official declined to provide details about the first military engagement between the country’s forces and North Korean forces. However, he said the incident took place within Russia’s Kursk region. In the region, Ukraine controls about 600 square kilometers of territory, or just over half of its former territory after a summer invasion that surprised Moscow.
Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate GUR announced over the weekend that Russia had equipped North Korean troops in Kursk with 60mm mortars, assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, anti-tank guided missiles and shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket launchers. . Some were also equipped with night vision and thermal imaging equipment, GUR said. Hundreds of North Korean special forces troops are also deployed to Kursk.
Ukrainian officials and military analysts have questioned the quality and combat capabilities of North Korea’s military, which they say are mostly inexperienced and low-ranking soldiers.
“We’ll see very soon” how well they can compete, one of the officials said Monday.
