Ukraine says Russia will send 10,000 North Korean troops to the area.

Russian intelligence shows that Russia is planning to send 10,000 North Korean forces to fight in Kyiv, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. Zelensky had said before that North Korea was sending troops to Russia's army, but this was the first time he gave a number.

"Intelligence from our intelligence" told Zelensky that there were already an unknown number of North Korean troops on "occupied Ukrainian territory from the side of Russian enemies." 

"We know that about 10,000 North Korean soldiers are getting ready to fight against us," he told reporters in Brussels after meeting with EU leaders. In Brussels, the leader of Ukraine went to both an EU leaders' gathering and a meeting of NATO military ministers. He did this to try to get backing for his "victory plan" to end the war with Russia. Zelensky said that the North Korean troops were made up of "land forces" and "other tactical personnel." He said, "This is the start of a world war." He also said that Iran was supporting Russia with "drones and missiles," which Tehran has denied many times.

He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "counting" on the North Korean troops because he was "afraid of mobilization." To get the word out about his plan, Zelensky made a quick trip to Washington, D.C., Paris, Berlin, Rome, and London earlier this month.

Russian troops are putting North Korean missiles in Ukraine, which experts have said for a long time. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have rejected this. In June, Putin made a rare trip to Pyongyang and signed a deal with Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, to protect each other. Moscow and Pyongyang have been friends since North Korea was created after World War II, and their relationship has grown stronger since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.