Zelensky says Russia seeks 30,000 extra N.Korea troops for Ukraine war

Protesters during the ninth day of a demonstration against Ukrainian President's decision to dismiss the former defence minister, in Kharkiv on July 24, 2026. [AFP]

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia has sought an extra 30,000 troops and missile launchers from North Korea to fight his country.

Preparations for the extra troops are being made in Russia's Voronezh region near the frontier with Ukraine, Zelensky said in a social media post late Saturday.

North Korea sent thousands of troops to help Russia fight off a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kursk region in 2024. It has also provided arms to help Russia's invasion since 2022.

According to South Korea, some 2,000 North Korean troops have been killed in the war.

"Russia wants to receive another 30,000 troops from North Korea. Since June, preparations have been underway in Russia's Voronezh region to receive them," Zelensky said on X.

"North Korea is also preparing to transfer additional launchers for ballistic missiles to Russia. This is a threat not only to Ukraine. Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war, improve its weapons, and gain real combat experience in using them," he added.

"All of this is a threat to everyone in Asia who is within range of North Korean missiles."

The two countries signed a military assistance treaty in 2024 and North Korea reaffirmed its support for Russia's war on Ukraine during a visit to Moscow this week by its foreign minister Choe Son Hui.

Pyongyang "expressed invariable support for all the internal and external policies of the Russian Federation to eliminate the root cause of the Ukrainian dispute and defend its national sovereignty, territorial integrity and international justice", the North's KCNA state news agency said after the talks.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin expressed "gratitude" for North Korea's support in a video released ahead of Choe's visit.

In return for its military aid, North Korea has received cash, military technology and food and energy commodities to help it overcome international sanctions over its nuclear programme.