The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said today that North Korean troops fighting for Russia have reportedly carried out offensive actions on the Ukrainian army-held side of Russia’s Kursk region.

“There is initial information that the Russians have started using North Korean soldiers in attacks – in significant quantity,” Zelensky said in his daily address.

“The Russians are putting them in combined units and using them in operations in the Kursk region. Currently, only in that part. But we have information that they could be involved in other parts of the front,” he added.

According to Zelensky, North Korean troops are “already suffering significant losses”. He also accused Moscow of taking the war to “another stage”.

“If this is not an escalation, then what is the escalation that many are talking about?” he continued, referring to voices reluctant to support Kiev as they say they fear an escalation with Moscow.

OR Ukraine has warned that Russia has mobilized nearly 50,000 troops, including several thousand North Koreans, to regain control of areas of the Kursk region seized by the Ukrainian army after a surprise attack in early August.

In late November, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin estimated that approximately 10,000 North Korean military personnel were in Russia’s Kursk region. “I expect to see them fighting on the battlefield soon,” he said at the time.

Lloyd Austin also said he had “not seen any significant information” about North Korean soldiers “actively engaged in combat”.

In early November, Zelensky had assured him that “some” North Korean soldiers had already engaged in hostilities and suffered casualties in the Kursk region.

South Korean government officials and a research agency said last month that Moscow provided fuel, anti-aircraft missiles and financial aid to Pyongyang in exchange for those troops.