Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed the Ukrainian military's first combat engagement with North Korean troops, saying it opened a new chapter of instability in the world.According to Yonhap News Agency, Zelenskyy, in a video address posted on the Ukrainian president's official website Tuesday (local time), said, "The first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new page of instability in the world." He expressed gratitude to global allies who have not only condemned the deployment of North Korean soldiers in Russia but have also prepared appropriate measures to support Ukraine's defense.Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of international cooperation in ensuring that Russia's escalation, marked by the deployment of North Korean troops, does not succeed. "Together with the world, we must do everything to make this Russian step to expand the war -- to really escalate it -- to make this step a failure. Both for them, and for North Korea," he added, according to a transcript posted on the website.In a Tuesday interview with local broadcaster KBS, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed that the first battle with North Korean soldiers has already taken place on a "small scale." This development follows Zelenskyy's earlier statement on Monday, which highlighted the presence of approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia's western front-line Kursk region.The U.S. State Department has also corroborated the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk, estimating their number to be around 10,000 and suggesting that they could engage in combat in the "coming days."
- October 12, 2026
