Zelenskyy says North Korea preparing to deploy 10,000 more troops to Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said more than 8,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia and preparations are under way to deploy 10,000 more.

• Zelenskyy, citing new data in a post on X, said troops are being selected for training and later deployment in Russia.
• His statement follows a dispute with Seoul over his announcement last week that Ukraine transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.
• South Korean President Lee Jae-myung accused Zelenskyy of breaching a secrecy agreement by revealing the prisoner transfer in his UN General Assembly speech.
• Kyiv and Seoul estimate North Korea has sent 14,000–15,000 troops to support Russia since 2024, mostly deployed in the Kursk region.