Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned what he says is a lack of response from Western allies after Russia deployed North Korean troops to fight in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In a Nov. 1 statement published on his official website, Zelenskyy said the first thousands of North Korean soldiers have already been transferred to Russian camps not far from Ukraine’s border. Their deployment means Ukrainians will eventually be “forced to defend themselves against them,” he said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine could strike the newly deployed soldiers “preventively” if it had access to weapons with sufficient capability and range.
“Yet instead of providing the much-needed long-range capabilities, America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching,” the Ukrainian leader said in the statement. “Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start targeting Ukrainians.”
The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for comment.
Zelenskyy made the comments just days after U.S. officials said up to 8,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia’s western Kursk region and would likely begin fighting alongside Russian forces in the coming days.
Overall, roughly 10,000 North Korean soldiers have arrived in Russia’s Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok in recent weeks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference on Oct. 31.
The troops may assist Russian forces with artillery and drone operations, Blinken said. Previously, the U.S. Department of Defense said the North Korean soldiers would likely be employed primarily in an infantry role.
“Should these troops engage in combat, or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would become legitimate military targets,” Blinken said, noting that the U.S. government is actively monitoring the situation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny recruiting North Korean troops to aid in the invasion of neighboring Ukraine in a recent press conference.
North Korea initially denied involvement but has since defended the decision as being in line with its interpretation of international law.
During the Oct. 31 press conference, Blinken and Austin also reiterated calls for China to leverage its diplomatic partners in Russia and North Korea to prevent escalation in the Ukraine war.
China Must Step Up, Zelenskyy Says
Zelenskyy also called on China, whom he called the “observer,” to do more to intervene following the deployment of the North Korean troops.“We know all the logistics between Russia and North Korea that help Russian aggression, and these logistics must be blocked,” he said. “It depends, among other things, on powerful Asian states. It depends on China, which frequently talks about ending the war. Yet remains an observer. And while these words are being spoken, North Korean soldiers are heading to the front.”
The Ukrainian leader concluded his statement by urging his country’s allies to “do more than just watch.”
“We must act. Words about the unacceptability of the escalation and expansion of the war must be matched by deeds,” he said. “North Korea’s involvement in this war in Europe is a threat to the entire world. A threat that must be stopped.”
North Korea recently launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time in nearly a year, sparking condemnation from the United States, South Korea, and Japan.
According to the South Korean government, the Oct. 31 launch was the longest ballistic missile test ever conducted by North Korea, with a flight time of 87 minutes.
In a statement, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said that while the missile test posed no threat to U.S. personnel, the country, or its allies, the launch marked “a flagrant violation” of several U.N. Security Council resolutions and “needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region.”
North Korea last test-fired an ICBM in December 2023 when it launched a Hwasong-18.
Ryan Morgan, Stephen Katte, and Reuters contributed to this report.
