Ukraine said on Thursday that North Korean soldiers had been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops control hundreds of square kilometers, as the West fears their participation in the fighting could lead to a major escalation in the war. .
These assertions come as Russian MPs voted earlier today, unanimously, to ratify the “treaty on the comprehensive strategic partnership” with North Korea which provides for mutual assistance in the event of armed aggression by a third country.
“The first units of the North Korean army, which were trained at training grounds in eastern Russia, have already arrived in the combat zone” between Ukraine and Russia, the Ukrainian military intelligence service (GUR) said in a statement.
“October 23, 2024”i.e. Wednesday, “their appearance was recorded in the (Russian) Kursk region”they added.
Questioned on the subject, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has undertaken an accelerated diplomatic and military rapprochement with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un since 2022, avoided responding directly, initially preferring to criticize the role of Westerners in Ukraine since 2014. .

North Korean troops in Russia / Nicholas SHEARMAN / AFP
“Imagery is a serious thing, if there are images (on the deployment of North Korean forces in Russia), they reflect something…”he quipped.
And to say to the journalists: “We have never doubted that the North Koreans take our agreements (cooperation, editor’s note) seriously”.
“It’s our business”he reiterated when discussing article 4 of the joint Russia-North Korea treaty, which provides “immediate military aid” in the event of armed aggression from third countries.
This treaty between Russia and North Korea was signed on June 19 during a rare visit by President Putin to Pyongyang, an illustration of this intensification of bilateral relations.
“Don’t sit back”
Earlier Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned that his country would not remain “not with crossed arms” faced with a sending of North Korean troops to Russian soil, even saying they were ready to study “with more flexibility” the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine, “depending on the actions of North Korean forces”.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, October 24, 2024 in Seoul / JEON HEON-KYUN / POOL/AFP
For its part, North Korea denies providing Russia with fresh forces for its assault on Ukraine, with a Pyongyang representative at the UN speaking out “baseless rumor”.
But according to a White House spokesperson, “Between early and mid-October, North Korea moved at least 3,000 troops” in eastern Russia, confirming information initially provided by Seoul.
Washington, however, said it did not know if they were going to fight alongside the Russian army in Ukraine, while believing that it was a “very worrying possibility”.
If so, these soldiers will be “legitimate military targets”had warned the American spokesperson.
South Korean intelligence assured last week that North Korea had decided to send up to 12,000 troops to help Russia.
In recent months, Pyongyang had already been accused by the West of supplying quantities of shells and missiles to the Russian army.
Unanimous vote in Moscow
In Moscow, 397 deputies of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, voted Thursday in favor of the “treaty on the comprehensive strategic partnership” between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The text must be examined on November 6 by the upper house of Parliament, the Federation Council, before being signed, without doubt, by Vladimir Putin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Brics summit in Kazan, October 24, 2024 / Alexander NEMENOV / AFP
Calling for the establishment of“a multipolar international system”a formula used by Moscow to counter what it calls “hegemony” of the United States, this treaty also provides “efforts towards growth in trade” and of “minimize the impact” economic sanctions that can be introduced by third countries.
The Duma vote comes on the day of the closing in Kazan, Russia, of the Brics summit, a group of nine countries sometimes presented as those of the « Sud global ».
By increasing the number of bilateral meetings, Vladimir Putin has worked to demonstrate the failure of the policy of diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions targeting his country.