Zelensky says Russia to deploy N Korea troops in combat as early as Sunday

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said Russia could send North Korean troops into battle as early as Sunday and urged international pressure on the Kremlin and Pyongyang.

"According to intelligence reports, on Oct. 27-28 , Russia will use the first North Korean military in combat zones," the Ukrainian leader said on social media, calling for "tangible pressure" to be placed on Russia and North Korea.

North Korea — with whom Russia signed a mutual defence pact — is already widely believed to be arming Moscow for its invasion but troops on the ground would mark a new escalation in the conflict.

"The first units of the DPRK military ... have already arrived in the combat zone of the Russian-Ukrainian war," Ukraine's GUR military intelligence said, adding they had been "recorded" in the Kursk region on Wednesday.

Ukraine said the number of deployed North Koreans in Russia was about "12,000" troops, without specifying how many of them were in the Kursk region.

Thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent for training in Russia, according to the United States and South Korea.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin — who signed a mutual defence pact with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June — did not deny the reports.

"Russia never doubted that the DPRK is serious about Russian cooperation, we are in cooperation with our North Korean friends," Putin said after hosting a summit of emerging economies.

"What we will do is our business," he said.

The strongman leader then appeared to mock satellite images which purportedly showed North Korean troops on Russian soil.

"Images are a serious thing. If there are images they must show something."

Putin was speaking hours after...