Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine. (Photo=REUTERS/Yonhap News)
Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, revealed that he had received reports that “North Korea had intervened in the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine.”
According to Reuters on the 14th (local time), President Zelensky, in a nationwide address, mentioned that he met with top Ukrainian officials to discuss the latest news regarding Russia’s involvement and received the report.
President Zelensky stated, “One of the most important reports from the intelligence agencies this fall and winter was about North Korea’s actual involvement in the war, which was very detailed.” He did not provide further specific details.
In a speech the previous day, President Zelensky also claimed that North Korea had dispatched its citizens to help the Russian military.
He said, “We are observing an increasing alliance between regimes like Russia and North Korea,” and added, “They are not just transferring weapons anymore, they are actually moving North Korean people to the occupying forces (Russia).”
CNN quoted a source from the Ukrainian intelligence department stating, “Some North Korean residents have cooperated with the Russian army, mainly assisting in engineering and exchanging information on North Korean ammunition use,” and reported, “Some of them have recently died in eastern Ukraine.”
In connection with this, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun stated during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly’s Defense Committee on the 8th that “the occurrence of casualties of North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine is highly likely when considering various circumstances,” and he added, “The possibility of additional dispatches is very high due to the military alliance-like mutual agreement between Russia and North Korea.”
On the other hand, Russia denies the claim that North Korean personnel have been dispatched to Russia as “fake news.”