Ukrainian troops clashed for the first time with North Korean units that were recently deployed to help Moscow in its war with Kiev, Ukraine's defense minister said today.
Another Ukrainian official said the Ukrainian army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in the Russian border region of Kursk.
The comments were the first official reports that Ukrainian and North Korean forces had clashed.
"Ukrainian and North Korean troops engaged in small-scale fighting that marked the beginning of Pyongyang's direct involvement in the war in Ukraine," Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.
"North Korean soldiers were mixed up with Russian troops and were misidentified on their uniforms. That's why it's hard to say if there were any casualties from North Korea," he said.
Umerov said he expected five North Korean units, each with about 3.000 troops, to be deployed to the Kursk region.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the counter-disinformation department of the Security Council of Ukraine, said that "the first North Korean troops have already been shelled in the Kursk region."
US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence estimates say Pyongyang is sending about 12.000 North Korean troops to the front.
The Pentagon announced yesterday that at least 10.000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia near the Ukrainian border.
North Korean soldiers, whose effectiveness in combat is questionable and combat experience unknown, contribute to the deterioration of the Ukrainian situation on the battlefield.
Currently, the Ukrainian army, especially in the eastern region of Donetsk, is yielding under the pressure of the Russian attack.
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