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North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong Denies Zelenskiy’s Claim on Additional Troops Deployment
Kim Yo Jong called Zelenskiy’s troop estimate groundless as North Korea blamed the United States and the West for prolonging the Ukraine war.
On Wednesday, North Korean official Kim Yo Jong denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's claim that Pyongyang plans to send up to 50,000 additional troops to Russia.
This denial follows 2024 reports that Pyongyang sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to Russia's Kursk Region under a strategic partnership treaty agreed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea.
Zelenskiy made his claim in a post this month, calling on South Korea to support Ukraine's air defenses. Independent assessments indicate Pyongyang has supplied Russia with artillery rounds and ballistic missiles.
In a statement via state media KCNA, Kim called the estimate "groundless" and "a self-staged incident," asserting the United States and West bear responsibility for the Ukraine crisis.
Kim added that Washington's "hostile policy" remains unchanged despite President Donald Trump's order to reduce military drills with Seoul, noting she is unaware of recent communications between the two countries' leaders.
Kim Yo Jong rejected Zelensky's statement of the DPRK's plans to send Russia another 50 thousand soldiersKim Yo Zhong called Zelensky's statement about the possible sending of 50 thousand troops to Russia groundless. In 2024, the DPRK
sent about 14,000 troops.