From political pariah to the presidency.

Four years after Americans booted then-President Trump from the White House and he left Washington in political disgrace two months later, after trying to overturn his election loss, they are sending him back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 

‘It’s a political victory that our country has never seen before,’ Trump said in his celebration speech early Wednesday morning, as he pointed to his convincing electoral and popular vote victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.

And his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, called Trump’s victory ‘the greatest political comeback in American history.’

Trump, in his victory address, touted that his political movement was one that ‘nobody’s ever seen before… this was the greatest political movement of all time.’

For an undisciplined candidate known for his hyperbole, Tuesday’s election results appeared to prove Trump right.

‘This is a historic political realignment,’ seasoned Republican strategist Ryan Williams said. 

Williams argued that Trump ‘basically threw out the coalition that Republicans had put together for the last several decades and reached out and doubled down on voting blocks that he thought he could make a connection with.’

‘He just expanded the party in a way that no other nominee has been able to do before. And I think that’s why the polling missed this, because he so radically changed the composition of the electorate,’ Williams highlighted.

For Trump, the 2024 campaign was a grueling two-year marathon. He announced his candidacy at his south Florida Mar-a-Lago club days after the 2022 midterm elections.

And he launched his campaign amid criticism from many in his party that he was partially responsible for the GOP’s lackluster performance in the midterm elections.

But after a slow start, the former president eventually easily dispatched a field of GOP primary opponents – which last year briefly expanded to over a dozen contenders – as he ran the table earlier this year in the Republican presidential primaries.

Trump, who was indicted in four different criminal cases, saw his support surge and his fundraising soar in the late spring of this year, after he made history as the first former or current president convicted of felonies.

A month later, President Biden suffered a major setback after a disastrous late June debate performance against Trump reignited longstanding questions over whether the 81-year-old president was physically and mentally up for another four grueling years in the White House – and sparked calls from within his own party for him to step down.

Trump’s polling advantage over Biden widened, and the former president was further politically boosted after surviving an assassination attempt on his life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, two days before the start of the Republican National Convention in July.

But the race was instantly turned upside down days later, as Biden ended his re-election bid and endorsed his vice president. Democrats quickly coalesced around Harris, and her fundraising surged as her poll numbers soared.

The Harris honeymoon continued through the late August Democratic National Convention, and into September, when most pundits declared her the winner of the one and only presidential debate between her and Trump. 

But as the calendar moved from September into October, Trump appeared to regain his footing, and public opinion surveys indicated the former president gaining momentum.

Longtime GOP strategist David Kochel noted that we’re ‘still in a country where you have a 70% wrong track. The voters wanted to change who was in the White House.’

Kochel, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns, noted that while Harris ‘breathed some life into the campaign, some enthusiasm, the fundamentals didn’t change. People are unhappy with the economy. They think the country’s going in the wrong direction. And they wanted to make a change. And it turns out Trump won the change argument.’

‘And he also ran a very effective swing state campaign with effective advertising that hurt her,’ Kochel added.

Williams also applauded the Trump campaign, saying that they ‘had a strategy and stuck with it. They just basically said we’re going with men… they doubled down on men.. they had a consistent strategy for it, and it worked.’

And Williams argued that Harris ‘basically took the Hillary Clinton playbook from 2016, xeroxed it, and made it worse.’

And both strategists highlighted that Trump was able to overcome his many misstatements and controversial comments.

‘We pay so much attention to the crazy things Trump says. All that stuff that people find inappropriate. That stuff doesn’t matter,’ Kochel argued. ‘He had a better strategy and an environment that played to his favor.’

And Williams spotlighted that Trump ‘has a way of understanding the electorate and connecting with people in a way that no other politician does. He just speaks off the cuff in his own way, and despite the fact that he tells a lot of mistruths, he’s viewed as being genuine because he’s not a polished politician.’

President-elect Donald Trump addressed his supporters in the nation early Wednesday morning after earning more than 270 electoral votes, vowing he will lead the ‘golden age of America’ after launching the ‘greatest political movement of all time.’ 

‘This was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond. And now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal,’ Trump said just before 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday. 

‘We’re going to help our country here. We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country and we’ve made history for a reason tonight. And the reason is going to be just that. We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible,’ he added to cheers from the crowd. 

Trump took the stage after Fox News projected he would win the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, as well as Wisconsin, Georgia and North Carolina. He notched more than 270 electoral votes around 1:45 a.m., officially defeating Harris. 

Trump said that he will lead the ‘golden age of America’ upon his inauguration. 

‘Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future. Every single day, I will be fighting for you. And with every breath in my body, I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America. That’s what we have to have. This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,’ he said. 

The Keystone State throughout the election cycle was seen as the state that would likely determine the overall outcome of the election, as both campaigns repeatedly traveled throughout the state to build support. Georgia was another hard-fought state for both campaigns, and where Trump was ultimately projected victorious on Tuesday evening. 

Vice President-elect JD Vance also addressed the crowds on Wednesday morning, thanking Trump for an ‘incredible journey.’

‘I appreciate you allowing me to join you on this incredible journey. I thank you for the trust, the place to me. And I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America. Okay. And under President Trump’s leadership, we’re never going to stop fighting for you, for your dreams, for the future of your children. And after the greatest political comeback in American history, we’re going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history. Under Donald Trump’s leadership,’ he said. 

Trump was flanked by his family while addressing his supporters, including former first lady Melania Trump and son Barron Trump. The president-elect invited UFC CEO Dana White to speak on stage, and gave shout outs to Elon Musk, as well as professional golfer Bryson Dechambeau. 

‘We will make America safe, strong, prosperous, powerful and free again. And I’m asking every citizen all across our land to join me in this noble and righteous endeavor,’ Trump said. 

The president-elect noted that after winning North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, he still has the opportunity to win other states such as Arizona and Michigan. 

‘In addition to having won the battleground states of North Carolina, and I love these places, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. We are now winning in Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Alaska, which would result in us carrying at least 315 electoral votes,’ he said. 

‘We also have won the popular vote,’ he added. 

Trump’s remarks followed the Harris-Walz campaign packed it up for the evening, with campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon encouraging supporters to go home ‘get some sleep’ as votes began to show Trump in the lead. Harris skipped addressing her supporters, opting to instead speak to voters and the nation on Wednesday. 

The campaign’s co-chair, Cedric Richmond, instead delivered brief remarks. 

‘We still have votes to count, we still have states that have not been called yet We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken. So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight. But you will hear from her tomorrow,’ Richmond said.

Vice President Kamala Harris will not speak to supporters tonight from her alma mater in Washington, D.C., as previously planned.

Harris campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond briefly addressed those gathered at Howard University in the early morning hours Wednesday, informing them Harris would address voters at the university on Wednesday. It was not made clear when exactly that would occur.

Despite the bleak outlook for Democrats at that moment of the night, Richmond told those gathered at Howard there were ‘still votes to be counted.’

‘We still have states that have not been called yet,’ Richmond added. ‘We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken.’

Before Richmond spoke and informed the crowd Harris would not be speaking as originally planned, videos began circulating online showing those gathered at Howard vacating the premises as the race’s momentum appeared to swing in favor of Republicans. 

Richmond’s indication that Harris would be calling it a night early came roughly an hour before the race was called for President-elect Donald Trump. Republicans also took back control of the Senate early in the night Tuesday, and it still remains possible the GOP wins a supermajority with enough victories in the House of Representatives.

Trump is still expected to speak to voters tonight from the Palm Beach County Convention Center as planned.

The Fox News Decision Desk projects former President Trump has defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in a stunning victory, delivering him a second term in the White House after a historic election cycle filled with unprecedented twists and turns and two attempts on his life. 

Trump defeated Vice President Harris, who entered this race just over 100 days ago.

Trump will be the first president to serve two nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892 — and only the second in history. 

Trump was first elected president in 2016, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and vowing to ‘Make America Great Again.’ He lost re-election to President Biden in 2020 during the global coronavirus pandemic but re-claimed the White House in 2024 after a nearly two-year campaign, vowing to ‘Make America Great Once Again.’ 

The President-elect was pushed over the 270 electoral vote threshold after a stunning win in the battleground states of North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

Trump’s comeback win was official after Fox News called Wisconsin in his favor, a state he narrowly lost in 2020.  

Pennsylvania was one of the most important states Trump to won, with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign having identified it as one of three Rust Belt states on its ‘clearest path to 270 electoral votes.’

The once and future president also took Georgia, no doubt a sweet victory for him after a bitter, narrow loss there in 2020.

Trump formally announced his presidential campaign on Nov. 15, 2022 – just days after the midterm elections. 

Trump campaigned for a second term on the record of his first and focused on the failures of the Biden-Harris administration. The former president was able to point to the reversal of some of his key policies as reasons why inflation rose and the U.S. border crisis worsened.

Trump faced a crowded GOP primary field, but emerged as the frontrunner yet again, easily defeating his opponents – all of whom eventually endorsed him to be the 47th President of the United States – and winning each primary contest.

Until July, Trump was running against Biden, who was seeking re-election for a second term. 

But the two debated for the first time in June, and weeks later, after a disastrous debate performance, Biden was pressured by Democrat insiders to suspend his presidential bid.  

Biden made the announcement in a social media post and endorsed Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee in his place, moving his vice president to the top of the ticket. 

The decision for Biden to drop out of the race came just days after the Republican National Convention (RNC) finished, and after Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, formally accepted the GOP nomination. 

But Trump, just days before accepting the Republican nomination, survived an assassination attempt at a rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. During the event, Trump was showing off a chart highlighting how illegal immigration skyrocketed under the Biden-Harris administration. As he turned toward the chart, he was hit by a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear by the now-deceased would-be-assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks. Trump credits the chart for saving his life. 

But weeks later, in September, another would-be-assassin hid himself in the bushes at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. The gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, had an AK-47-style rifle pointing through the fence toward Trump as he was golfing. Trump was rushed off the golf course by U.S. Secret Service agents unharmed.

Just a day later, Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the ‘rhetoric’ of Biden, Harris and the Democrats was to blame. 

‘He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,’ Trump said of the gunman. ‘Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country – both from the inside and out.’ 

The general election showcased two very different visions for the future of the United States of America. 

The Trump campaign touted pro-growth, America first economic policies, securing the border, ending inflation, and restoring ‘peace through strength’ as part of the president’s plan.

The Trump campaign’s closing message was: ‘Harris broke it. Trump will fix it.’ 

In the final weeks of the campaign, Trump traveled to Pennsylvania to work at a McDonald’s drive-thru window as a fry cook in a jab at Harris, who previously claimed that she worked at the fast-food chain.

Meanwhile, Harris campaigned that Trump was a threat to democracy and warned supporters that he would sign a national abortion ban – something Trump repeatedly denied.

As for the rhetoric, it never quite fizzled. Trump held a massive, sold-out campaign rally just a week before Election Day at Madison Square Garden in traditionally blue New York City. Democrats, including Harris, later likened Trump to ‘Hitler.’ 

And less than a week before Election Day, Biden described Trump supporters as ‘garbage.’

Trump landed key endorsements from top Republicans during his bid for the White House but also created unlikely allies, like former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. 

Trump also drew support from top business leaders like Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick. Lutnick told Fox News Digital that many Wall Street leaders had privately committed their support to Trump. 

Trump’s victory comes after years of what his campaign called a ‘weaponization’ of the Justice Department. 

Trump’s post-presidential life and third campaign was reminiscent of his days in the Oval Office, marred by investigations, which the former president and his allies said were just part of an effort by his political opponents to prevent him from running for re-election in 2024. 

Trump, who was the first president in U.S. history to be impeached and acquitted twice, was also the first president to be indicted, not just once, but four times over. 

Just days after announcing his re-election bid in November 2022, Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped former DOJ official Jack Smith as special counsel. The appointment came several months after the FBI conducted an unprecedented raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, claiming he improperly retained classified records from his presidency. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from that probe. 

The case was eventually tossed completely by a federal judge in Florida, who ruled that Smith was improperly and unlawfully appointed as special counsel. 

Smith also took over an investigation into alleged 2020 election interference. Trump also pleaded not guilty, but his attorneys took the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court to argue on the basis of presidential immunity. 

The high court ruled that Trump was immune from prosecution for official presidential acts, forcing Smith to file a new indictment. Trump pleaded not guilty to those new charges as well. Trump attorneys are now seeking to have the election interference charges dropped in Washington, D.C., similarly alleging that Smith was appointed unlawfully. 

But that case wasn’t the first Trump-related Supreme Court ruling this election cycle. Colorado, attempting to use the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, sought to remove Trump from the 2024 primary ballot, but the Supreme Court sided unanimously with the former president, impacting efforts in several other states to do the same. 

In 2023, Trump was charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg with allegedly falsifying business records. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges but sat through an unprecedented six-week criminal trial in New York City this spring. The jury found him guilty. 

Trump appealed the ruling, and the judge presiding over the case set his sentencing date for after the election. 

Trump also sat inside a courtroom in the fall of 2023 for a civil fraud trial stemming from a lawsuit brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Judge Arthur Engoron demanded Trump pay more than $450 million. 

But a New York appeals court appeared open-minded and receptive in September to reversing or reducing that judgment. 

Trump has also appealed a ruling to pay E. Jean Carroll more than $80 million in a defamation suit. As president, Trump said Carroll was lying about allegations of sexual assault. This year, a New York jury ruled that he defamed Carroll’s character in denying the allegations and defending himself. 

And in Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis charged Trump in her election interference case. He pleaded not guilty but was booked and had his mugshot taken – a photo his campaign used throughout the election cycle to illustrate the ‘lawfare’ used against him. 

A Georgia judge tossed a number of charges against Trump, and the case is on hold.

The future of the cases and charges hang in limbo, as the president-elect will have the power to pardon himself once sworn in.

But Trump, through all of the unprecedented legal challenges, took every opportunity to campaign. After hours in court this spring, Trump delivered pizzas to the New York City Fire Department. 

Trump told his supporters he thought the prosecutions would have ‘the reverse effect’ on his presidential bid – and he was apparently right.  

With the Senate flipping to the GOP column, it’s unclear how many Republicans they’ll have. But they could have well over 50 votes. But they won’t have 60 yeas to crack a filibuster. 

That could mean a pressure campaign to eliminate the filibuster. 

Here’s the other dynamic: Democrats are holding the seats they need to potentially win the House. 

Democrats have already flipped one key NY seat in their favor. 

With a GOP Senate and the possibility of a Democratic House, we would be on the precipice of history. 

There has NEVER been a double flip in U.S. history where one body flips in one direction and the other flips in the other. 

With a Republican Senate, there will be a race now for Majority Leader between Thune, Cornyn, and Rick Scott. That leadership vote is scheduled for next Wednesday. 

And it’s possible that Trump could influence who he wants to lead the GOP in the Senate. 

Also, if Democrats are able to flip the House, the roots of this can be traced back to swapping out Biden for Harris.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was declared the winner Tuesday night in his effort to keep Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District solidly red, according to The Associated Press. 

The four-term congressman was first elected in 2016 but gained prominence as a leader in the GOP after he was elected by his fellow members of Congress last year to replace former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California. Johnson was previously vice chair of the House GOP conference. 

Johnson’s victory Tuesday in his reliably red district came with little resistance. Democrats did not enter a candidate in the race. Joshua Morott, a Republican substitute teacher with little experience in politics, was Johnson’s only challenger. 

Johnson’s district sits in the northwest corner of the state and is home to Shreveport, Louisiana’s third most populous city. 

Despite lacking any true competition, Johnson still led his party’s fundraising efforts this election cycle. He brought in more than $19 million for his own campaign and $8 million for other GOP candidates, according to the Louisiana Illuminator.

Louisiana has been at the center of a redistricting battle, and earlier this year the state’s congressional map was redrawn to include two Black majority districts. The state is still facing legal challenges over whether the new maps unfairly discriminate against voters. 

Johnson’s future as GOP leader remains uncertain even if Republicans maintain control of the House after Tuesday’s election. Johnson has said he wants to continue in the leadership role if Republicans keep the House.

However, he has not indicated anything about his plans if they do not. People close to Johnson have said he would likely step down, according to NBC News.

Even if Republicans keep the House, a handful of them have signaled they either will not support Johnson to remain speaker or are unsure whether they would support him.

In addition to his duties as speaker, Johnson serves on the House Judiciary Committee and is chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government.

Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk said election night he plans to continue to be active in politics through the presidential election into the 2026 midterms. 

‘America PAC is going to keep going after this election — and preparing for the midterms and any intermediate elections, as well as looking at elections at the district attorney and sort of judicial levels,’ Musk said on X Spaces Tuesday. 

Musk has taken an active role on the campaign trail for the former president and has helped canvass for Trump in key battleground states like Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina

According to its website, America PAC aims to ‘promote free speech, free markets, and a merit-based society.’ 

Musk made waves on the Pennsylvania campaign trail in support of Trump’s campaign, including offering $1 million a day to swing-state voters who sign his political action committee’s petition backing the Constitution.

Musk was sued by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who called the contest an ‘illegal lottery’ aimed at influencing the results of a presidential election.

On Monday, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Musk could continue his efforts. 

Reuters reported Tuesday evening that Musk has also been sued in a proposed class action over the giveaway. 

Musk has given at least $118 million to America PAC, The Washington Post reported. He is expected to spend election night with the former president in Florida. 

The New York Times first reported the news, citing two people familiar with Musk’s schedule, that Musk will be among a small group of people watching the election results with Trump. 

Musk, after the first assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, wrote on X, ‘I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.’

Musk later appeared with Trump at a rally in Butler.

‘I want to say what an honor it is to be here, and, you know, the true test of someone’s character is how they behave under fire, right?’ Musk said at the beginning of his remarks. ‘And we had one president who couldn’t climb a flight of stairs and another who was fist pumping after getting shot.’ 

Ukraine has engaged militarily for the first time with North Korean troops deployed to support Russia in its ongoing war with its neighbor, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday in a nightly address. 

Zelenskyy did not go into detail about the engagement but warned of what he says is Russia’s intention to escalate the war that has raged for nearly 1,000 days. 

A Kyiv official said Ukraine’s army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk border region.

‘Terror, unfortunately, can spread like a virus when it does not meet sufficient counteraction. Now our counteraction must be sufficient, strong enough. The first battles with North Korean soldiers have opened a new chapter of instability in the world,’ Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address as he thanked Ukraine’s allies around the world.

‘Together with the world, we must do everything so that this Russian step to expand the war with real escalation fails. Both for Russia and North Korea.’

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that more than 10,000 North Korean troops arrived in Russia, with a ‘significant number’ in the frontline areas, including the Kursk region where Ukrainian forces staged an incursion in August.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told South Korean state television there had been a ‘small engagement’ with the North Korean troops, per Reuters. The report, with excerpts from the interview, quoted Umerov as saying the engagement was small and not yet systematic in terms of mobilizing soldiers.

Umerov reportedly said he expects five North Korean units, each consisting of about 3,000 soldiers, zto be deployed to the Kursk area. North Korean soldiers are mixed with Russian troops and are misidentified on their uniforms, Umerov was quoted as saying, according to the Associated Press.

Russia is reported to have 1.3 million active-duty soldiers with another 2 million in reserve. Russia is now seeing its highest number of casualties than at any other time since the war began, with some 1,200 casualties reported a day, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week. Despite the high number of casualties, there does not appear to be any end in sight to the war, validating early concerns that this would be a war of attrition.

Zelenskyy has been sounding the alarm that the recent deployment of North Korean troops in Russia not only spells trouble for Ukraine but also draws into question the stability and security of nations in Asia that are allied with the West.

‘North Korea’s actions aren’t random,’ Zelenskyy said in an interview with South Korea’s public broadcasting network KBS on Thursday. ‘They have strategic goals.’

‘Their actions aren’t coincidental. They want Russia’s support in return,’ he added in comments also posted to his social media account on X.

Zelenskyy has called on South Korea to take a bigger role in the conflict and has said that South Korea has already pledged to send a team of specialists to Ukraine, where they will collaborate on defensive capabilities, including air defense, as North Korea also provides Russian with artillery and missiles.

‘If South Korea wants to understand the real capabilities of North Korea and its soldiers, it would benefit them to be here to see and analyze the reality firsthand,’ he said. ‘Consider how close North Korea is to [the South Korean capital] Seoul [25-30 miles], the range of modern artillery, not even missiles.

‘Air defenses can’t counter artillery strikes. Our own towns were obliterated by artillery. I hope South Korea never faces this, but preparation is critical,’ Zelenskyy added.

Zelenskyy also called into question China’s ‘silence’ with regard to the North’s recent involvement in the war.

Meanwhile, North Korea was reported to have fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Tuesday.

The launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a flight test of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the U.S. mainland. In response to that launch, the United States flew a long-range B-1B bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in a show of force.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Ukraine has engaged militarily for the first time with South Korean troops that were deployed to support Russia in its ongoing war with its neighbor, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday in a nightly address. 

Zelenskyy did not go into detail about the engagement but warned of what he says is Russia’s intention to escalate the war that has raged for nearly 1,000 days. 

A Kyiv official said Ukraine’s army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk border region.

‘Terror, unfortunately, can spread like a virus when it does not meet sufficient counteraction. Now our counteraction must be sufficient, strong enough. The first battles with North Korean soldiers have opened a new chapter of instability in the world,’ Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address as he thanked Ukraine’s allies around the world.

‘Together with the world, we must do everything so that this Russian step to expand the war with real escalation fails. Both for Russia and South Korea.’

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that more than 10,000 North Korean troops had arrived in Russia, with a ‘significant number’ in the frontline areas, including the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces staged an incursion in August.

Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told South Korean state television there had been a ‘small engagement’ with the North Korean troops, per Reuters. The report, with excerpts from the interview, quoted Umerov as saying that the engagement was small and not yet systematic in terms of mobilizing soldiers.

Umerov reportedly said he expects that five North Korean units, each consisting of about 3,000 soldiers, will be deployed to the Kursk area. North Korean soldiers are mixed with Russian troops and are misidentified on their uniforms, Umerov was quoted as saying, according to the Associated Press.

Russia is reported to have 1.3 million active-duty soldiers with another 2 million in reserves. Russia is now seeing its highest number of casualties than at any other time since the war began, with some 1,200 casualties reported a day, claimed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week. Despite the high number of troop casualties, there still does not appear to be any end in sight to the war — validating early concerns that this would be a war of attrition. 

Zelenskyy has been sounding the alarm that the recent deployment of North Korean troops in Russia not only spells trouble for Ukraine, but also draws into question the stability and security of nations in Asia that are allied with the West.

‘North Korea’s actions aren’t random,’ Zelenskyy said in a frank interview with South Korea’s public broadcasting network KBS on Thursday. ‘They have strategic goals.’

‘Their actions aren’t coincidental — they want Russia’s support in return,’ he added in comments also posted to his social media account on X.

Zelenskyy has called on South Korea to take a bigger role in the conflict and has said that South Korea has already pledged to send a team of specialists to Ukraine where they will collaborate on defensive capabilities, including air defense, as North Korea also provides Russian with artillery and missiles.

‘If South Korea wants to understand the real capabilities of North Korea and its soldiers, it would benefit them to be here, to see and analyze the reality firsthand,’ he said. Consider how close North Korea is to Seoul [25-30 miles], the range of modern artillery, not even missiles.’ 

‘Air defenses can’t counter artillery strikes. Our own towns were obliterated by artillery. I hope South Korea never faces this, but preparation is critical,’ Zelenskyy added.

Zelenskyy also called into question China’s ‘silence’ with regard to the North’s recent involvement in the war. 

Meanwhile, North Korea was reported to have fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Tuesday.

The launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised a flight test of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the U.S. mainland. In response to that launch, the United States flew a long-range B-1B bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in a show of force.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.