Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, on Wednesday denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement that Pyongyang plans to send up to 50,000 additional troops to Russia to fight on the side of its ally, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
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Kim Yo Jong, a senior official of North Korea's ruling party, said in a statement published by the state-run KCNA that Zelenskyy's assessment was "groundless" and "self-made."
Zelenskyy made the statement in a post on X this month and called on South Korea to provide support for his country's air defense system.
Kim Yo Jong said that responsibility for starting and prolonging the Ukrainian crisis lies entirely with the United States and the West.
The publication notes that in 2024, North Korea sent about 14,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region under a comprehensive treaty on strategic partnership concluded during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang in June 2024.
According to estimates by Ukraine and independent sources, Pyongyang also supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar shells, ballistic missiles, long-range artillery pieces, and multiple-launch rocket systems.
Kim Yo Jong also said that the United States' "hostile policy" toward North Korea had not changed, despite President Donald Trump's order to significantly reduce U.S. participation in joint military exercises with South Korea.
Trump said that North Korean leader Kim responded to his message18.08.26, 09:39
She said that although relations between the leaders of the United States and North Korea are "truly excellent," Washington continues to conduct exercises with Seoul and threatens Pyongyang's national security.
She added that she knew nothing about any recent contact between the leaders of the two countries. Trump said on Monday that he had received a response from Kim after scaling back the U.S. exercises with Seoul and called North Korea "not a threat and respectable."