U.N. chief "very concerned" over North Korea's deployment to Russia

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres says he is "very concerned" about North Korean troops sending troops to Russia.

"We are very concerned about reports of North Korean troops being sent to Russia and the possibility that they could be deployed to war zones in Ukraine," AFP said in a statement from U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on the 3rd local time.

He added that if the North Korean military is deployed like this, it could be a "very dangerous escalation" of the war in Ukraine.

Guterres reiterated his "meaningful efforts" to end the war, stressing that "all measures must be taken to avoid the internationalization of this conflict."

According to a recent U.S. government announcement, 8,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Kursk, Russia, and are expected to be in combat in the coming days.

The Ukrainian military claimed that more than 7,000 of the North Korean troops sent to Russia had been deployed to the Ukrainian border as of the last week of last month, armed with 60mm mortars, Phoenix anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and night vision goggles.