Zelenskyy proposes preemptive strikes on North Korean troops in Russia: 'It depends on our partners'

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his pleas for the use of long-range weapons in Russia.
• Zelenskyy said Ukraine could strike North Korean troops there "'preemptively" with such permission.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the West to lift restrictions on long-range weapons so Ukraine can strike North Korean troops in Russian "preemptively."

In a post on Telegram on Friday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine could see "every site" where Russia was gathering North Korean troops on its territory.

"We could strike preemptively, if we had the ability to do so, with a long-range strike," he wrote. "It depends on our partners."

"But instead of the long-range strike that is so necessary, America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching," he continued. "Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start striking at Ukrainians."

Zelenskyy has long been pleading with Western allies to permit the use of deep-strike weapons on Russian territory.

While the UK and France have reportedly pushed to allow such strikes, the US and Germany have remained reluctant, fearing provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Around 8,000 North Korean troops are in the Russian frontline region of Kursk and are expected to enter the war within days, US offcials said at a press conference on Thursday.

"We've not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukraine's forces, but we expect that these North Korean soldiers will join the fight against Ukraine in the coming days," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the conference, adding that the US believed Russian forces had trained the North's soldiers on artillery, drone, and basic infantry operations.

Austin added that North Korean troops would become "legitimate military targets" if they were to "engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine."

It comes as North Korea announced that it had tested what it called the "world's most powerful strategic missile."

The new intercontinential ballistic missile (ICBM), identified by North Korea's KCNA state media agency as the "Hwasongpho-19," launched on Thurdsay and flew more than 1,000 km (around 620 miles) in around 86 minutes before landing in the Sea of Japan.

Experts told Business Insider that the size of the missile — which has been estimated to be around 92 feet long — would likely affect its mobility in a conflict.

Responding to the news of the test on X, Zelenskyy said that the "world merely watches" as North Korea's threat grows.

"Thousands of North Korean soldiers are already near Ukraine's borders, preparing to fight. And the world is still watching," he wrote.