Seoul has issued a “grave security threat” warning and stated that North Korea has begun sending troops to fight with Russia in Ukraine, according to South Korea’s spy agency.
The accusation was made the day after Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, stated that, according to intelligence reports, he thought 10,000 North Korean soldiers may join the conflict.
Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, demanded a security meeting on Friday and stated that “all available means” must be used by the international community in response.
The spy service claims that 1,500 troops have already reached Russia, but unnamed sources have told South Korean media that the actual number may be closer to 12,000.
This occurs as mounting evidence suggests North Korea is feeding Russia weapons, as seen by the recent discovery of a missile in the Poltava region of Ukraine.
In recent months, Moscow and Pyongyang have also been strengthening their relations. Vladimir Putin was hailed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week on his birthday, and he was referred to as his “closest comrade”.
Important representatives from the Ministry of National Defense, the National Intelligence Service, and the National Security Office of South Korea attended the security meeting on Friday, according to Yoon’s office.
“[The participants] decided not to ignore the situation and to jointly respond to it with the international community using all available means,” added the statement.
Days after Ukrainian military intelligence sources made the claim, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that Russia’s army is forming a unit of North Koreans.
The BBC has asked the NIS for comment.
Ukraine’s spy chief, Kyrylo Budanov, claimed that nearly 11,000 North Korean infantry troops are training in eastern Russia to fight in Ukraine. The North Koreans will be using Russian equipment and ammunition, and the first group of 2,600 soldiers will be sent to Russia’s western Kursk region.
Putin introduced a bill to ratify a military pact he made with Kim, which pledges that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country. South Korea’s spy agency, the NIS, said North Korean troops are training in Russian bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, and Vlagoveshensk.
Since August, North Korea has sent 13,000 shipping containers carrying shells, missiles, and anti-armour rockets to Russia. As many as eight million 122-mm and 152-mm shells have been supplied to Russia.
However, some military experts believe that the Russian military units will have difficulties incorporating North Korean troops into their frontlines due to the language barrier and the North Korean army’s lack of recent combat experience.
(BBC)
