Ukraine’s president said a decision has been made to deploy 30,000 to 50,000 North Korean forces on Russian soil.

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday evening in an interview: “North Koreans sometimes appear on the territory of the Russian Federation. We see this, we know this. If at the beginning they were talking about hundreds of people and then thousands of people, now a decision has been made to have 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans on the territory of Russia.”

He said: “Undoubtedly, North Korea will gain experience in modern warfare under Russia’s supervision.”

Zelensky said: “We have previously found North Korean missiles on the territory of Ukraine. Today, this is no longer a known fact.”

Based on the mutual defense agreement between the two countries, North Korea sent about 14,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024 to fight in the Kursk Oblast.