The United States has received information that 8,000 North Korean troops are "currently" in Russia's Kursk region, the US deputy permanent representative to the organization, Robert Wood, told the UN Security Council today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
"With great respect, I have a question for my Russian colleague: does Russia continue to claim that there are no DPRK troops in Russia?" Wood asked, using North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The Russian representative at the meeting did not answer the question, notes Reuters.
Against this background, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is in the process of negotiating with North Korea to send a “large number of civilians” to work in Russian weapons production plants, Reuters reported. He pointed out that Moscow had confirmed the participation of North Korean soldiers in the war to Kiev's Western allies through intelligence channels, and said that Russia was checking the West's response to bring in more troops if it was weak.
Zelensky also commented that he was surprised by China's silence about the participation of North Korean soldiers on the side of Russia.