Number of North Korean troops in Kursk Oblast increases to 11,000, Zelensky says

North Korea has already deployed 11,000 troops in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 4, citing Ukraine’s intelligence report.
“We see an increase in the number of North Koreans, and we do not see an increase in the reaction of our partners,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
Ukraine’s military intelligence reported on Nov. 2 that Russia deployed more than 7,000 North Korean troops from Russia’s Primorsky Krai closer to the Ukrainian border.
These numbers almost coincide with those of Washington earlier this week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that some 8,000 North Korean troops are amassed in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine began a cross-border incursion in August and still holds significant swathes of territory.
Zelensky said that if Ukraine had permission to use Western long-range weapons on Russian territory, it could preemptively target “every camp” in Russia where North Korean troops are gathering.
Recently, Kyiv has been issuing warnings that the deployment of North Korean troops in combat is only a matter of days. Ukraine believes that Russia is preparing to send 12,000 North Korean soldiers to join its war, including special forces.
According to Zelensky, Russia has confirmed to the West the involvement of Pyongyang’s forces in the war.