South Korea has demanded the immediate pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia, as it expressed deep concerns over the growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. The South Korean spy agency confirmed that 1,500 North Korean special operation forces were sent to Russia to support Moscow's war against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also claimed intelligence suggesting that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were being prepared to join Russian forces.
During a meeting with the Russian Ambassador, South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister condemned North Korea's troop dispatch as a grave security threat to South Korea and the international community. South Korea, in collaboration with the international community, vowed to mobilize all available means to address this threat.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed concerns over the military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow during a call with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Yoon stated that South Korea will send a delegation to NATO to exchange information about Russian-North Korean cooperation.
While the U.S. and NATO have not confirmed the presence of North Korean troops in Russia, South Korea remains apprehensive about the potential transfer of sophisticated technologies from Russia to North Korea in exchange for troop dispatch.
North Korea's advancing nuclear arsenal poses a significant security threat to South Korea. If verified, South Korea may consider supplying weapons to Ukraine in response to Russian transfers of high-tech nuclear and missile technologies to North Korea.
South Korea has joined U.S.-led sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine but has refrained from directly providing arms to Kyiv due to its policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflicts.
Russia has denied using North Korean troops in its war with Ukraine, while North Korea's state media has not commented on the matter. At a U.N. Security Council meeting, Western ambassadors raised concerns about the reported North Korean troop deployment, with the U.S. and its allies consulting on the implications of such a move.
Cooperation between North Korea and Russia has strengthened in recent years, with accusations of North Korea supplying conventional arms to Russia in exchange for economic and military assistance. The reported troop deployment would mark North Korea's first participation in a major war since the Korean War, although experts question the combat effectiveness of North Korean troops.
