Kim Yo-jong says Zelensky’s estimate that Pyongyang planned to send up to 50,000 more troops is ‘groundless’ and ‘a self-staged incident’
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenReutersPublished: 11:23pm, 19 Aug 2026North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, sister of leader Kim Jong-un, on Wednesday denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that Pyongyang planned to send up to 50,000 more troops to Russia to fight for its ally.
Kim Yo-jong, a top official in North Korea’s ruling party, said in a statement published by state media KCNA that Zelensky’s estimate was “groundless” and “a self-staged incident”.
Zelensky made his claim in a post on social media this month, and he called on South Korea to provide support for his country’s air defences.
Kim Yo-jong said responsibility for the outbreak and for the prolongation of the Ukraine crisis lay entirely with the United States and the West.
North Korea sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to Russia’s Kursk region in 2024, under a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty agreed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s June 2024 visit to Pyongyang.
