ZELENSKYY: 30,000–50,000 MORE NORTH KOREANS COULD BE SENT TO RUSSIA AND THE THREAT MAY REACH FAR BEYOND UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia could bring an additional 30,000 to 50,000 North Korean personnel into Russia for military-related duties, raising concerns that Pyongyang is using the war in Ukraine as a real-world training ground for modern warfare.
Zelenskyy warned that the consequences could extend far beyond Europe. North Korean forces are reportedly gaining experience in drone warfare, artillery coordination, missile operations, electronic warfare and battlefield adaptation skills that could eventually return with them to the Korean Peninsula and the wider Pacific region.
North Korea has already provided Russia with thousands of troops, millions of artillery shells and ballistic missiles. Ukrainian intelligence has also warned of possible North Korean missile deployments inside Russian territory.
The concern for South Korea and Japan is growing: a North Korean military exposed to years of modern, high-intensity warfare could return home significantly more experienced than before.
Ukraine is now seeking deeper military cooperation with South Korea, particularly in air-defense technology, while offering its own battlefield experience and drone expertise in return.
For Seoul, Ukraine’s war is increasingly no longer a distant European conflict.
It may be becoming a live-fire classroom for the army stationed directly across its own border.