Zelenskyy "Before the arrival of North Korean troops"...Putin's aides warn of 'World War III'

[Anchor]
Amid tensions over the North Korean military's actual deployment in the Ukraine war, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy strongly urged the West to respond before then.

A close aide to Russian President Putin has warned that if the United States continues to fuel the war against Ukraine, it will lead to World War III.

Reporter Lee Kyung-ah reports.

[Reporter]
President Volodymyr Zelensky has again expressed discontent with his Western allies.

"The United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are all waiting for the North Korean military to attack Ukraine."

President Zelensky, who stressed the need for North Korean troops to take action before they reach the battlefield, has repeatedly called on the West to authorize the use of long-range weapons to strike targets in Russia, saying he is "aware of the location of the North Korean military."

It is also interpreted as meaning that if the arms restrictions are lifted, it can preemptively strike the North Korean military.

President Zelensky also expressed his discomfort in an interview with Korean media on the 30th of last month, saying that the West responded passively.

[Volodymyr Zelensky / Ukrainian President: So far, there is no response at all. If we don't respond to the dispatch of North Korean troops, the number of North Korean troops entering our land will increase further.]

There are mixed analyses in the U.S. over the effectiveness of sending North Korean troops.

The Washington Post said that Russia has secured additional personnel so that it can prolong the war, and that in the worst case, it could lead to global conflict.

Meanwhile, the U.S. think tank War Research Institute analyzed that the 8,000 North Korean soldiers known to be in Kursk will not be a long-term solution to the recruitment of Russian troops.

In the meantime, Russia has accused the Zelensky regime of viewing war as a tool for its own benefit.

Russia has offered to hand over more than 900 prisoners of war, but Ukraine has claimed to accept only one-third.

[Marya Zakharova / Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: Zelenskyy's regime is only interested in exchanging prisoners with troops made up of extremists, terrorists and nationalists.]

Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and deputy chairman of Russia's National Security Council, is already sending a warning to the next U.S. president.

If the U.S. continues to fuel the Ukraine war, it will "pave the way to World War III," he said in an interview with Russian media.

"U.S. officials are mistakenly thinking that Russia will not try to protect itself with nuclear weapons," he said.

I'm YTN Lee Kyungah.