Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on November 4 that 11,000 North Korean troops had reached Russia's Kursk region, according to Kyiv's intelligence agencies.
Zelenskiy said in his evening address that he had been briefed by Ukraine’s intelligence agencies on the movements and regretted that Western allies have not reacted more firmly.
"There are already 11,000 (North Koreans) in the Kursk region," Zelenskiy said. "We see an increase in North Koreans and no increase in the reaction of our partners. Unfortunately."
According to estimates of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defense Ministry, the number of North Korean troops transferred to Russia is now about 12,000, including 500 officers, three of them generals.
The Pentagon on November 4 estimated the number of North Korean troops in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine slightly lower, at 10,000.
The total number of North Korean forces in Russia "could be closer to around 11,000-12,000," Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told reporters at a briefing.
Top U.S. officials last week put the number of North Korean soldiers in Kursk -- where Ukrainian troops control several hundred square kilometers of Russian territory after launching a ground offensive in August -- at about 8,000 out of a total of 10,000 in Russia.
Ryder said the Pentagon could not at this point confirm reports that they had entered combat, but all North Korean forces are being issued Russian uniforms and Russian equipment.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on October 31 that the troops were expected to be deployed into combat in the coming days. He said they would become legitimate military targets once they entered the battlefield.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met earlier on November 4 in Seoul with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul. They issued a joint statement condemning in the "strongest possible terms" North Korea’s deployment.
“We are also deeply concerned about the possibility for any transfer of nuclear- or ballistic missile-related technology to [North Korea], which would jeopardize the international nonproliferation efforts and threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and across the globe,” the statement said.
North Korea and Russia haven't confirmed the North Korean deployment, but they have argued that their military cooperation doesn't break international laws.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui on November 4 in Moscow. State television showed them greeting each other.
Details of the meeting were not available, but Choe conveyed "sincere, warm, comradely greetings" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
