South Korea’s intelligence agency said North Korea is preparing to send up to 12,000 soldiers to fight Russia in Ukraine, in what Seoul describes as a “serious security threat”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said 10,000 North Korean soldiers could participate in the war, based on intelligence information.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called a security meeting on Friday and said the international community must respond with “all available means”.
This comes as growing evidence suggests that North Korea is supplying ammunition to Russia, as demonstrated recently by the recovery of a missile in the Poltava region of Ukraine.
Moscow and Pyongyang have also increased cooperation in recent months. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wished Russian President Vladimir Putin a happy birthday. called him “my closest comrade”.
Yoon’s office said Friday’s security meeting was attended by key officials from South Korea’s National Security Office, the Ministry of National Defense and the National Intelligence Agency.
“[The participants] decided not to ignore the situation and together with the international community responded with all available measures,” the statement stated.
The accusation from the National Intelligence Service came days after Ukrainian military intelligence sources said the Russian military was forming a unit of North Koreans.
The BBC has contacted NIS for comment.
Earlier this week, Mr. Putin introduced a bill to ratify the military pact he signed with Mr. Kim, which pledged that Russia and North Korea would come to each other’s aid in the event of “aggression” against either country.
A military source in Russia’s Far East told BBC Russian this week that “some North Koreans have arrived” and are stationed at one of the military bases near Ussuriysk, north of Vladivostok.
However, some military experts believe that Russian military units will have difficulty integrating North Korean troops into their front lines.
They said that, in addition to the language barrier, the North Korean military has no recent experience in combat operations.
“They can secure some areas on the Russia-Ukraine border, which will make it possible for Russian units to fight elsewhere,” said Valeriy Ryabykh, editor of the Ukrainian publication Defense Express. .
“I rule out the possibility that these units will immediately appear on the front lines.”
Additional reporting by Jake Kwon and Hosu Lee in Seoul
