Senior Pyongyang official calls Ukrainian president’s estimate “groundless” while accusing Washington and Western powers of prolonging conflict

PYONGYANG: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, on Wednesday rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that Pyongyang plans to send up to 50,000 additional troops to Russia.

Kim Yo Jong, a senior official in North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, described Zelensky’s estimate as “groundless” and called the allegation a “self-staged incident,” according to a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.

Zelensky recently made the claim on X while urging South Korea to strengthen support for Ukraine, particularly its air-defence capabilities.

Moreover, Kim blamed the United States and Western countries for both starting and prolonging the Ukraine crisis.

Pyongyang Maintains Extensive Military Cooperation With Moscow

North Korea has already provided substantial military assistance to Russia under the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June 2024.

According to estimates, Pyongyang deployed around 14,000 soldiers to Russia’s Kursk region during 2024.

Additionally, Ukrainian and independent assessments say North Korea has supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar rounds, ballistic missiles, long-range artillery systems and multiple-launch rocket systems.

However, Pyongyang rejected Zelensky’s assertion that another large deployment involving tens of thousands of soldiers is planned.

Kim Questions Change in Washington’s North Korea Policy

Meanwhile, Kim Yo Jong said Washington’s “hostile policy” toward North Korea remained unchanged despite US President Donald Trump ordering a substantial reduction in American participation in joint military exercises with South Korea.

She acknowledged that relations between Trump and Kim Jong Un remained personally strong. Nevertheless, she argued that continuing US-South Korean military exercises still threatened North Korea’s national security.

Furthermore, Kim said she knew of no recent communication between the two leaders.

Trump, however, said Monday that he had received a response from Kim after reducing US participation in the exercises and describing North Korea as “unthreatening and respectful.”