North Korean troops have entered combat with Ukrainian forces, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, calling the engagement a "new page of instability in the world."

Ukrainian troops have for the first time engaged with North Korean units that were recently deployed to help Russia in the war with its neighbor, Ukraine's defense minister said Tuesday. Another Kyiv official said Ukraine's army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk border region.

Officials confirm Ukraine has fired on North Korean troops for the first time since thousands of them joined Russia in its war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that the first battles between the Ukrainian military and North Korean troops "open a new page in instability in the world" after

North Korea has aided Russia by sending 10,000 troops to the Ukrainian front. However, as the Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday, they are commanded by a Russian major general. The presence of North Korean soldiers indicates "close cooperation" between the two regimes.