Zelenskyy: North Korea loses 4,000 troops but gains cheap experience to spread war

North Korea has lost 4,000 soldiers but "Pyongyang gets experience cheap to re-export the war", President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format.

The Ukrainian leader reminded that dictator Vladimir Putin "is not just holding on to his investments in aggression, he's doubling down." Putin has effectively begun hiring North Korean soldiers to prolong the war.

"North Korea studies modern warfare. They do not value their people, and we know it, they lose them – 4,000 as of today. But Pyongyang gets experience cheap to re-export the war, maybe there in the Indo-Pacific," Zelenskyy said. He added that Russia's collusion with North Korea reveals Putin's weakness, as no Russian leader "would ever lower themselves to beg in Pyongyang unless facing critical problems."

Therefore, continued pressure on Russia is essential to ensure Ukrainian forces receive the weapons they need, Zelenskyy said.