Kursk: The first clash between Ukrainian and North Korean soldiers

AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS
The Ukrainian army clashed on the front with North Korean troops for the first time since Pyongyang sent its forces to help Russia, the Ukrainian defense minister confirmed today, reports Politico.
In an interview with South Korean media, Rustem Umerov said that there was a "small-scale conflict" between Kyiv forces and North Korean soldiers. He did not elaborate.
Andrey Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, said on Monday that North Korean soldiers were "already under fire" in Russia's Kursk region.
Asked if the engagement meant North Korea had officially joined the war, Umerov replied: “Yes, I think so. It was a conflict.”
"We expect more engagements in the coming weeks," he added.
More than 10,000 North Korean troops are now in the Kursk region to help Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Monday.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Kiev's allies to lift the ban on long-range missile strikes on Russian territory so that Ukraine could also target North Korean troops.
"Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean army to start attacking Ukrainians," Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram.