Nov. 2 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants Western nations to support Ukraine preemptively striking North Korean troops in Russia instead of waiting for those troops to attack Ukraine.
Western nations have banned Ukraine from making long-range missile strikes inside Russia, but Zelensky on Saturday said attacks against North Korean troops inside Russia should be permitted.
“Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start attacking Ukrainians,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.
“We see every site where Russia is accumulating these soldiers from North Korea on its territory,” Zelensky said in a translation of his post. “We could strike preemptively if we had this opportunity.”
He said because the North Korean troops are foreign troops inside Russia, they are a legitimate military target and subject to a preemptive strike.
U.S. and South Korean officials on Thursday said North Korea has 8,000 troops deployed in the Kursk-Oblast area of Russia, where Ukraine in August captured territory and maintains its hold.
North Korea has sent about 10,000 soldiers to Russia, which is training them in artillery, UAV and ground operations, including trench-clearing, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Thursday.
“Russia intends to use these troops against Ukraine,” Austin said. “That would make them legitimate military targets.”
Austin said Russia is average a loss of 1,200 troops every day, so 10,000 North Korean troops shouldn’t make a significant impact on Russia’s military operations.
More important are the estimated 9 million artillery shells and other munitions North Korea has sent to Russia, which is about half of all the shells Russia has fired so far this year, Western analysts say.
Austin said it’s also important to learn what North Korea might gain from its support of Russia.
So far, there is no indication that Russia has helped North Korea with its development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, but that might change, Austin said.