WASHINGTON − Ukrainian intelligence reports indicate they intercepted communications revealing disarray within Russian ranks as they strive to incorporate North Korean troops into their military efforts.

Several intercepted communications came from soldiers defending Kursk, a Russian region bordering Ukraine where Ukrainian forces gained ground in August, as per Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency.

According to the spy agency, Russian military leadership has assigned one translator and three Russian troops for every 30 North Korean soldiers based on these intercepted conversations.

However, the Russian soldiers in these calls expressed skepticism about having sufficient commanders to oversee the new groups, and they doubt they possess enough weapons and ammunition for the forces as the invasion approaches its third year.

One intercepted conversation recorded in Kursk featured a Russian soldier expressing “outrage” towards a commander who instructed troops to provide scarce Russian armored vehicles to the newly arrived North Korean contingents.

“I want to kill him today, yes, after the Koreans,” one soldier remarked in the audio.

In another intercepted communication, a soldier lamented the shortage of translators, claiming, “We all act as translators now.”

In another crude remark, a soldier disparagingly referred to the North Korean troops as “Chinese.”

The agency further revealed that Russian police halted a truck transporting North Korean soldiers to Kursk on Sunday due to the driver’s lack of a “combat order.”

This situation unfolds as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to bolster relations and exchange intelligence regarding the estimated 12,000 North Korean troops expected to be stationed at Russian military installations.

Ukraine and South Korea plan to “exchange delegations,” according to Zelenskyy’s post on X.

Additionally, North Korea’s foreign minister recently arrived in eastern Russia and is set to visit Moscow for her second trip in six weeks, according to reports from Russian state media, though the Kremlin stated that President Vladimir Putin would not meet with her.

The Pentagon announced on Monday that around 10,000 North Korean troops are currently stationed at military posts in Russia’s eastern region and could potentially be deployed to Kursk in the near future—an increase from last week’s estimate of 3,000.

“We are increasingly concerned that Russia plans to deploy these troops in combat roles or to assist combat operations against Ukraine forces in the Kursk region near the border with Ukraine,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh on Monday.