North Korea has begun sending troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy agency has said, warning Seoul of a “serious security threat.”
The allegation comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that based on intelligence he believed up to 10,000 North Korean troops could be involved in the fighting.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called a security meeting on Friday and said the international community should respond with “all available means.”
According to the spy agency, 1,500 troops have already arrived in Russia – anonymous sources told South Korean media that the final figure may be closer to 12,000.
This comes as evidence is emerging that North Korea is supplying ammunition to Russia, as shown by the recent recovery of a missile in the Poltava region of Ukraine.
Moscow and Pyongyang have also been deepening their cooperation in recent months. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wished Russian President Vladimir Putin on his birthday. Called him his “closest companion”,
Friday’s security meeting was attended by key officials from South Korea’s National Security Office, Ministry of National Defense and National Intelligence Service, Yoon’s office said.
,[The participants] It was decided not to ignore the situation and to respond to it jointly with the international community using all available means.
The National Intelligence Service’s allegation comes days after Ukrainian military intelligence sources said the Russian military was creating a unit of North Koreans.
The BBC has contacted the NIS for comment.
Earlier this week, Putin introduced a bill to ratify the military agreement he signed with Kim, which promises that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country. do.
South Korea’s spy agency, NIS, said North Korean troops are training at Russian bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Vlagovshensk.
This appears to confirm information from a military source in Russia’s Far East, who told BBC Russian this week that “a number of North Koreans have arrived” and were stationed at a military base near Ussuriysk. .
Seoul’s spy agency also released aerial photos of Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk, where it says hundreds of North Korean troops have gathered, and another photo of North Korea’s Chongjin port, where a Russian ship was reportedly seized by North Korean troops. Was shown being carried.
The NIS said it found that since August, North Korea has sent 13,000 shipping containers carrying shells, missiles and anti-armor rockets to Russia.
It said eight million 122-mm and 152-mm shells have been supplied to Russia.
However, some military experts believe that Russian military units will have difficulty engaging North Korean troops within their borders.
Apart from the language barrier, the North Korean military has no recent experience in combat operations, he said.
“They can protect parts of the Russian-Ukrainian border, which will free up Russian units to fight elsewhere,” said Valery Ryabykh, editor of the Ukrainian publication Defense Express.
“I would rule out the possibility that these units would immediately come to the front lines.”
Additional reporting by Jake Kwon and Hosu Lee in Seoul
