Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said today he discussed the international response to North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia with General Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s supreme commander in Europe.

“We also exchanged views on the immediate and tough response of the international community to the involvement of North Korean troops in combat operations on the side of Moscow,” Sirskyi said in a Facebook post.

In addition, the Ukrainian government has named three North Korean generals whom it claims are accompanying the thousands of Korean People’s Army soldiers deployed in Russia to help Moscow in its war in Ukraine.

In a statement to the UN Security Council yesterday, Ukraine’s delegation said the three generals in question are among at least 500 North Korean officers sent to Russia.

According to the statement, the plans call for North Korean troops to form at least five formations of 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers each and integrate with Russian units to conceal their presence.

Russia has not denied the involvement of North Korean troops in the war, which it has been waging since February 2022 against Ukraine.

Ukraine has identified North Korean generals

Ukraine has identified General Kim Jong-bok, commander of special forces including the 11th Corps, also known as the Assault Corps, who South Korean intelligence says is deployed to Russia.

Michael Madden, a North Korea specialist at the US-based Stimson Center, says Kim’s role appears to be broader, with a role in the special missions of the General Reconnaissance Office, its main spy agency. North Korea.

Kim has appeared at seven events this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, including at special forces high schools.

“This is a large and almost unprecedented deployment of the Korean People’s Army,” says Madden, who believes the general is in Russia as a proxy for Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong-bok may hand over command to a colonel or major general in the Korean People’s Army, Madden added.

Other top officers identified by Ukraine are General Ri Chang Ho, vice chief of the General Staff, head of the General Reconnaissance Bureau, and Lt. Gen. Shin Kum Cheol, head of the Central Operations Directorate.

As head of North Korea’s main intelligence agency since about 2022, Ri has been sanctioned by South Korea, which says the general led efforts to intercept technology and foreign currency.

Like Kim Jong-bok, Ri had accompanied Kim Jong-un to an unusually large number of events this year, including an inspection of a naval base on the east coast.

Madden says Shin’s career path is unclear, but given his rank he is likely to take command of North Korean troops in Russia once Kim Jong-bok and Ri Chang-ho depart.