MOSCOW: Russia on Friday (Nov 8) refused to say whether North Korean troops were fighting alongside its army against Ukraine, a day after Kiev claimed they were inflicting “casualties” on Pyongyang’s soldiers.
The West, Ukraine and South Korea – citing intelligence reports – have said North Korea has done it sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia to be deployed for combat.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that some had already engaged in fighting in Russia’s western Kursk region, where Kyiv has launched an offensive.
“North Korean army soldiers are currently present on the territory of the Russian Federation … namely in the Kursk region,” Zelenskyy told reporters.
There are “11,000 of them. Some of these troops have already participated in hostilities against the Ukrainian military. Yes, there are already losses,” he added.
Asked by AFP about Zelenskyy’s comments on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment.
“This issue directly concerns the course of the special military operation, therefore it must be addressed to the Defense Ministry,” Peskov said, using Moscow’s preferred language for its offensive.
