Zelensky said that North Korean troops are ready to join the war, and canceled the visit of the UN head

Kyiv, Ukraine — North Korean troops could be deployed by Russia to the battlefield in Ukraine as soon as this weekend, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said Friday.

Western officials have warned that the entry of North Korean units into the fight would ignite a nearly three-year war and lead to geopolitical consequences even in the Indo-Pacific region.

The possibility alarmed leaders and heightened diplomatic tensions surrounding the war. A senior official in Ukraine’s presidential administration told The Associated Press on Friday that Zelensky had canceled a planned visit to Kyiv by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the visit was supposed to come after a summit of the BRICS emerging economies bloc this week in the Russian city of Kazan, which was attended by Guterres.

A photo of Guterres shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit sparked an outcry in Ukraine.

Zelensky, in a Telegram post, said Ukrainian intelligence had determined that “the first North Korean military will be used by Russia in combat zones” between Sunday and Monday.

On Telegram, he said the deployment was “an obvious escalation move by Russia.” He did not provide any additional details, including where the North Korean soldiers might be sent.

Russia is waging a furious summer campaign on the eastern front in Ukraine, gradually forcing Kyiv to surrender its position. But Russia has been struggling to push Ukrainian troops out of the border Kursk region since the invasion almost three months ago.

North Korean units were discovered on Wednesday in Kursk, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, known by the acronym GUR.

The soldiers underwent several weeks of training at bases in eastern Russia and were equipped with clothing for the coming winter, the GUR said in a statement late Thursday.

The number of North Korean soldiers sent by Pyongyang to Russia is estimated to be about 12,000, including about 500 officers and three generals.

The GUR did not provide any evidence for its claims.

Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on social media platform X on Friday that intelligence reports indicate North Korean soldiers are “likely to be deployed to Kursk first.”

The deployment of North Korean forces under a military pact between Moscow and Pyongyang adds a new dimension to the conflict, which is Europe’s biggest war since World War II and has claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides, including many civilians.

The US said on Wednesday that 3,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia and were undergoing training in several places, calling the move very serious.

Zelensky said a week ago that his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korean troops were ready to join Russian forces fighting his country. He said the entry of a third country into hostilities would turn the conflict into a “world war.”

North Korea has already supplied ammunition to Russia as part of a defense pact, but the outbreak could seriously complicate the war, which has inflamed international politics as most Western countries back Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Putin is seeking support among the BRICS countries.

He neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops in Russia.

Mike Corder in The Hague contributed.