North Korea is sending its citizens to help Russia’s military fight Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said, increasing concerns about the alliance between Moscow and the secretive state.

In his daily video message on Sunday, the Ukrainian president said: “We see an increasing alliance between Russia and regimes like North Korea. It is no longer just about transferring weapons. It is actually about transferring people from North Korea to the occupying military forces.” Zelensky’s allegation comes amid an increasingly friendly relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea in June – the first visit of its kind for more than two decades – and Western observers have wondered how heavily North Korea has assisted Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Obviously, in such circumstances, our relations with our partners need to be developed. The frontline needs more support,” Zelensky added, reiterating his plea for Western nations to allow Kyiv to use long-range missiles in Russian territory.

A source in Ukrainian intelligence, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, told CNN last week that a small number of North Koreans have been working with the Russian military, mostly to help with engineering and to exchange information on the use of North Korean ammunition. Some of them were recently killed in eastern Ukraine, the source said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday dismissed allegations that North Korean personnel had been sent to help Russia as “another hoax.”

But South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said last week it is monitoring developments and believes the claim could be accurate.

Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun said it is “highly likely that the reported casualties of North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine are true, given various circumstances,” speaking at the annual parliamentary audit of the defense sector on Tuesday.

“We believe that the possibility of further deployment of regular troops is very high, as Russia and North Korea have entered a mutual agreement that is almost equivalent to a military alliance. We will also be well-prepared for this possibility,” he added.

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