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Zelenskiy Says Russia Is Deploying More North Korean Troops in Its Kursk Region

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves after a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Trump at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of ceremonies to mark the reopening of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, five-and-a-half years after a fire ravaged the Gothic masterpiece, in Paris, France, December 7, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves after a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Trump at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of ceremonies to mark the reopening of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, five-and-a-half years after a fire ravaged the Gothic masterpiece, in Paris, France, December 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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Zelenskiy Says Russia Is Deploying More North Korean Troops in Its Kursk Region

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves after a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Trump at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of ceremonies to mark the reopening of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, five-and-a-half years after a fire ravaged the Gothic masterpiece, in Paris, France, December 7, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves after a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Trump at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of ceremonies to mark the reopening of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, five-and-a-half years after a fire ravaged the Gothic masterpiece, in Paris, France, December 7, 2024. (Reuters)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Moscow had started involving "a noticeable number" of North Korean troops in its efforts to drive Ukrainian troops out of Russia's Kursk region.

Ukrainian troops began their incursion into the Kursk region in August and still control some settlements there, part of Kyiv's attempt to relieve pressure on its forces in eastern Ukraine where Russia has been making steady advances.

Zelenskiy said the North Korean troops' participation in the operations in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, amounted to a new escalation in the nearly 34-month old war.

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White House's Sullivan: Weakened Iran Could Pursue Nuclear Weapon

FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
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White House's Sullivan: Weakened Iran Could Pursue Nuclear Weapon

FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

The Biden administration is concerned that a weakened Iran could build a nuclear weapon, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, adding that he was briefing President-elect Donald Trump's team on the risk.
Iran has suffered setbacks to its regional influence after Israel's assaults on its allies, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, followed by the fall of Iran-aligned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran's conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.
"It's no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, 'Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now ... Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear doctrine'," Sullivan said.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021 presidential term, pulled out of a deal between Tehran and world powers that put restrictions on Iran's nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.
Sullivan said that there was a risk that Iran might abandon its promise not to build nuclear weapons.
"It's a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It's a risk that I'm personally briefing the incoming team on," Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with US ally Israel.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could return to his hardline Iran policy by stepping up sanctions on Iran's oil industry. Sullivan said Trump would have an opportunity to pursue diplomacy with Tehran, given Iran's "weakened state."
"Maybe he can come around this time, with the situation Iran finds itself in, and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs Iran's nuclear ambitions for the long term," he said.