North Korea has begun sending troops to fight Russia in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy agency said, as Seoul warned of a “serious security threat”.
The accusation came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed 10,000 North Korean troops could join the war based on intelligence information.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol called for a security meeting on Friday and said the international community must respond with “all available means”.
According to the spy agency, 1,500 troops have arrived in Russia – anonymous sources told South Korean media that the final number may be closer to 12,000.
Meanwhile, evidence is mounting that North Korea is supplying munitions to Russia, as evidenced by the recent recovery of a missile in the Poltava region of Ukraine.
Moscow and Pyongyang have also been deepening cooperation in recent months. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent birthday greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Call him his “closest comrade”.
Yoon’s office said Friday’s security meeting was attended by key officials from South Korea’s National Security Office, Defense Ministry and National Intelligence Service.
“[The participants] Decided not to ignore the situation and to use all available means to respond to it together with the international community.
The accusation by the National Intelligence Service comes days after Ukrainian military intelligence sources said the Russian military was forming a unit composed of North Koreans.
The BBC has contacted the National Intelligence Service for comment.
Earlier this week, Putin introduced a bill to ratify his military agreement with Kim Jong Un, which pledges Russia and North Korea to help each other if either country suffers “aggression.”
South Korea’s intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Service, said North Korean troops were training at Russian bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok.
This appears to confirm information from a military source in Russia’s Far East, who told BBC Russian this week that “some North Koreans have arrived” and are stationed at a military base near Ussuriysk.
Seoul’s spy agency also released aerial photos of Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk, where hundreds of North Korean troops are said to have gathered, as well as another photo of North Korea’s Chongjin port, where a Russian ship reportedly carried There are North Korean soldiers.
The National Intelligence Service said North Korea has sent 13,000 containers of artillery shells, missiles and anti-armor rockets to Russia since August.
It is said that up to 8 million 122mm and 152mm artillery shells have been supplied to Russia.
However, some military experts believe that Russian troops will have difficulty integrating North Korean troops into the front lines.
In addition to the language barrier, North Korean troops have no recent combat experience, they said.
“They could guard parts of the Russian-Ukrainian border, allowing Russian forces to fight elsewhere,” said Valery Ryabih, editor of the Ukrainian publication Defense Express.
“I rule out the immediate presence of these troops on the front lines.”
Additional reporting by Jake Kwon and Hosu Lee in Seoul
