In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (left) greets North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui prior to their talks in Moscow on Nov. 4, 2024.Photo by MIKHAIL TERESHCHENKO/Getty

North Korean troops in Russia shelled by Ukrainian forces, official says

US, South Korean and Ukrainian assessments say up to 12,000 North Korean combat troops are being sent to the war under a pact with Moscow.

by · National Post

KYIV, Ukraine — North Korean troops recently deployed to help Russia in its war with Ukraine have come under Ukrainian fire, a Kyiv official said Tuesday.

It is the first time a Ukrainian official has claimed that Pyongyang’s units were struck, following a deployment that has given the war a new complexion as it approaches its 1,000-day milestone.

“The first North Korean troops have already been shelled, in the Kursk region,” Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation branch of Ukraine’s Security Council, wrote on Telegram. He provided no further details.