A STAGGERING 8,000 North Korean troops are reportedly set to cross into Ukraine and start fighting for Vladimir Putin within days.
Dictator Kim Jong-un has happily sent his pal in the Kremlin thousands of fighters who are now due to be led into battle by one of Kim’s closest allies.
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General Kim Yong Bok, the deputy head of the North Korean army, is reportedly set to march into Ukraine alongside Pyongyang’s troops, according to Kyiv’s intelligence.
Bok, known as a veteran of the country’s Storm Corps special forces, is often pictured standing beside his tyrant boss and taking down notes.
Ukraine believe Bok will be the highest ranked North Korean officer sent to help Russia, they told the United Nations this week.
At the same meeting between Kyiv and the UN, shocking new figures emerged stating that over 8,000 North Koreans troops may enter the war zone in Kursk.
At the start of the week, Western intelligence claimed only 4,500 foreign troops were ready to be deployed straight to the frontlines.
Ukraine say in total 10,000 North Korean fighters are already working with Russia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in Washington that he expects the troops to begin combat “in the coming days”.
He added that Russian troops have been asked to train up the new recruits in artillery, drones and “basic infantry operations, including trench clearing”.
In a stern warning to North Korea Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “Make no mistake, if these North Korean troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would make themselves legitimate military targets.”
Other US officials have previously said any foreign fighter helping out an enemy of the US will only ever return home in “body bags”.
A paranoid Vlad is looking towards Kim to help him find more men to toss at Ukraine with officials saying over 600,000 Russian soldiers have fallen so far.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said Putin’s desperation to find more troops only proves his back is up against the wall.
He added that it demonstrates Putin is happy to oversee “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war”.
The first sighting of North Korean troops in Russian territory came last month.
Footage appeared to show North Korean troops marching alongside Russian soldiers at a military base near Vladivosto.
Video analysed by The Washington Post showed hordes of men who appeared to be of Korean descent at Sergeevka military training ground – near Russia’s eastern border with North Korea.
The clips also included audible Korean phrases spoken with a North Korean accent.
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Putin bringing over thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II is set to only pile on more pressure to Ukraine’s weary and outnumbered army.
But a group of nearly 200 defectors who have fled Kim Jong-un‘s regime are hoping to turn things around for Ukraine.
They hope to fight for Ukraine and help demoralise and influence Pyongyang’s troops to join the right side.
The ex-soldiers, currently living in South Korea, offered their military experience to help wage psychological warfare against Moscow’s allies, the South China Morning Post reports.
Ahn Chan-il, a 69-year-old defector and member of the group, said: “We are all military veterans who understand North Korea’s military culture and psychological state better than anyone else.
“We’re ready to go wherever needed to work as psychological warfare agents – through loudspeaker broadcasts, distributing leaflets, and even acting as interpreters.”
Another important player in the initiative, Lee Min-bok, has made his appeal directly to the Ukrainian government.
He asked President Zelensky for the green light to help rescue North Korean soldiers.
It comes just days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile that flew for 86 minutes — setting a record for Pyongyang.
The ICBM crashed into the sea 200 miles off Japan, which said it reached a height of 4,350 miles and flew 600 miles from the launch site.
It has now raised fears that Kim is developing a new kind of weapon that could strike US soil.
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