Zelenskyy bashes 'zero' Western response to N Korean troop deployment
Speaking in a televised interview aired on a South Korean channel, the Ukrainian leader criticises the lack of concern from Kiev's allies.
Putin is "testing the reaction of the West, of NATO states and the reaction of South Korea," Zelenskyy said in an interview with the S Korean TV channel KBS. / Photo: Reuters Archive
Ukraine's Western allies have not adequately responded to the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia's war with Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview.
The comments on Thursday came after the US and South Korean defence chiefs called on Pyongyang to withdraw its troops from Russia, warning that North Korean soldiers in Russian uniforms were being deployed for possible action against Ukrainian forces.
Moscow has neither denied nor directly confirmed the presence of North Korean troops. After an initial denial, North Korea has since defended the idea of deploying troops as being in line with international law.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is "testing the reaction of the West, of NATO states and the reaction of South Korea," the Ukrainian leader said in an interview with the South Korean television channel KBS.
"And if there is nothing –– and I think that the reaction to this is nothing, it has been zero –– then the number of North Korean troops on our border will be increased," he added.
Seoul has long accused Pyongyang of sending weapons to help Moscow fight Kiev and alleges that North Korea moved to deploy soldiers en masse after its leader Kim Jong-un signed a mutual defence deal with Putin in June.
"I am surprised by China's silence. I am not saying that China is on our side, but it is one of the guarantors of security in your region, at least that's what we thought," Zelenskyy said, adding, "and there is this silence now."
"I think, Japan, South Korea –– you are both strong countries –– should reach out to China and have China as an ally in terms of what North Korea is doing now," he added.
"North Korea is now dragging your whole region into a war," the Ukrainian leader said.
His office released the comments as the United States and South Korea held high-level talks after North Korea test-fired one of its newest and most powerful missiles, demonstrating its threat to the US mainland days ahead of elections.
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