Zelenskyy says Ukraine will be forced to fight against North Korea as he calls on allies to increase pressure on Russia

NATO boots on the ground have not even been necessary so far.

I doubt a bunch of half-starved North Koreans who have never seen actual combat vs. the hardened Ukrainian military will require them.

The latest info on the 18 North Korean deserters is that they were stationed in a forest without any command or supplies for 4 days and left their post because the alternative was starvation. They were picked up by the Russians soon after.

Watching your Russian translator get blown in half from a DJI drone with an RPG strapped to it tends to drive down the morale of new troups.

I only read reports of desertion, not surrender.

That was quick 😅

It's all messy politics since the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan visited Yasukuni shrine (the one that's infamous for honoring WW2 war criminals) which made a huge controversy in South Korean media. There's still public support for Ukrainians plight, but also jaded cynicism since they see SK being diplomatically pressured into supporting Ukraine (which means risking more tensions with NK and China) while governments in Western Europe and US are taking their time.

They're working on bypassing their law that prevents them from selling arms to countries at war because of this.

Not really since Korean politics has made the entire Seoul area a de facto hostage for peace. Estimates place the death toll for Seoul alone at about 100,000 in the first 48 if hostilities between the North and South broke out due to the volume of artillery currently pointed at the city.