South Korea’s president said that the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea posed a major global security threat, after the US accused Pyongyang of sending 10,000 soldiers to train in Moscowread more
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday said that the “illegal” military cooperation between Russia and North Korea posed a major “security threat” to the global community as well as also be a “serious risk” for his country’s security.
The remarks by Yoon came within hours after the
United States accused North Korea of sending some 10,000 soldiers to train in Russia, tripling its previous estimate and prompting NATO and EU warnings of a dangerous expansion of the Ukraine war.
Washington had previously put the number of North Korean troops in Russia at more than 3,000.
Seoul’s spy agency had previously said North Korea had sent thousands of soldiers, including elite special forces, to Russia.
Pyongyang – with whom Moscow signed a mutual defense pact – is already widely believed to be arming Russia for its invasion, but troops on the ground would mark an escalation in the conflict.
‘Significant security threat’
“As the war in Ukraine continues for the third year, North Korea has gone beyond providing weapons to Russia and has even deployed troops,” Yoon said.
“This illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a significant security threat to the international community and could pose a serious risk to our national security,” he further said.
‘Need to prepare countermeasures’
The South Korean president went on to say, “We must thoroughly examine all possibilities and prepare countermeasures.”
“The measures would be actively taken step-by-step” depending on the progress of Russia-North Korea military cooperation, AFP quoted South Korea’s presidential office as stating.
Yoon further said that the cooperation between North Korea and Russia “fundamentally shakes the rules-based international order and threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and globally”.
During a phone call with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, on Monday, Yoon described the current situation as “grave”, warning that North Korean troops’ entry into the front lines could “happen sooner than expected”.
Last week, Ukraine said that North Korean soldiers had arrived in the “combat zone” in Russia’s Kursk border region.
Meanwhile, North Korea has denied sending troops to Russia. However, in the first comment last week in state media – Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) – the country’s vice foreign minister said that were such a deployment to happen, it would be in line with global norms.
“If there is such a thing that the world media is talking about, I think it will be an act conforming with the regulations of international law,” North Korea’s vice foreign minister in charge of Russian affairs, Kim Jong Gyu, said.
North Korea foreign minister heads to Russia
Amid reports and developments, North Korea’s foreign minister headed to Russia, KCNA said Tuesday, without giving further details.
Will South Korea reconsider supplying weapons to Ukraine directly?
Considered to be one of the major arms exporter, South Korea, has earlier said it would reconsider whether to supply weapons directly to Ukraine, something its Western allies have long called for. So far, Seoul has resisted due to longstanding domestic policy.
However, Seoul has already sold billions of dollars of tanks, howitzers, attack aircraft and rocket launchers to Poland, a key ally of Ukraine.
In June, South Korea agreed to transfer the knowledge needed to build K2 tanks to Poland, which experts have said could be a key step towards production inside Ukraine.
With inputs from AFP.