According to senior Ukrainian officials, clashes broke out between North Korean soldiers and Ukrainian troops for the first time.

In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said a “small group” of North Korean soldiers had been attacked.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who previously condemned the West's lack of response to North Korean troops, said these “first battles with North Korea open a new chapter of instability in the world.”

However, Seoul said it “does not believe that (troops on both sides) are engaged in direct fighting” but that there was an “incident” involving a small number of North Korean soldiers “near the front lines.”

According to Ukraine, an estimated 11,000 North Korean soldiers were in the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian troops are stationed.

In recent weeks, South Korean and US intelligence agencies as well as NATO said they had seen evidence of North Korean troops' involvement in the war against Russia.

But Moscow and Pyongyang have not yet responded directly to any of the allegations.

Andriy Kovalenko, Ukraine's top counter-disinformation official, said for the first time in a Telegram post on Monday that North Korea's “first military units … had already come under fire in Kursk.”

In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS, Rustem Umerov confirmed this and said he expected a “significant number” of North Korean troops to be involved in combat operations, but added that “so far these have only been small contacts, not full-scale operations “ act “.

Most of them are still in training, he added.

“They wear Russian uniforms, undergo tactical training and are deployed at the front under various commands of the Russian army,” Umerov said.

He said it was likely that five units, each with about 3,000 soldiers, would be deployed to the battlefield.

He did not mention whether there were any casualties.

In a daily video address on Wednesday, Zelensky called on Ukraine “together with the world… to do everything possible to derail this Russian move to expand the war. Both for them and for North Korea.”

Reports of such a move by North Korea have also alarmed the South and increased tensions between the two sides.

Late last month, Seoul summoned the Russian ambassador and called for the “immediate withdrawal” of North Korean troops from Ukraine. It also warned that it was considering supplying weapons directly to Ukraine.

Analysts said Pyongyang could be paid or gain access to Russian military technology in exchange for the troops.

On Wednesday, Russian lawmakers will vote on ratifying a mutual defense treaty with North Korea that was first proposed this year The ceremonial visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang in June.

It promises that Russia and North Korea will support each other in the event of “aggression” against either country.