President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 29 to discuss the transfer of North Korean troops to Russia and a response by Kyiv and Seoul.
Pyongyang has reportedly dispatched thousands of troops to aid Moscow’s war against Ukraine in a sign of deepening Russian-North Korean cooperation.
“I provided my colleague with fresh data on 3,000 North Korean troops transferred to training facilities in the immediate vicinity of the combat zone,” Zelensky said, according to his Telegram channel.
This number is expected to rise approximately to 12,000, Zelensky noted, reiterating the figure previously provided by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.
During the phone call, Zelensky and Yoon agreed to “strengthen the sharing of intelligence and expertise and to intensify contacts on all levels, including on the highest level, to develop a response strategy and a list of countermeasures,” the Ukrainian president said.
Following a meeting with South Korean officials, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed on Oct. 28 that North Korea had deployed troops to Russia‘s Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine launched a cross-border offensive.
South Korean intelligence said that North Korean troops are likely heading for a front-line deployment, though the Ukrainian military has not yet confirmed encountering Pyongyang’s forces on the battlefield.
A South Korean delegation will visit Ukraine later this week to share information on North Korea’s troops in Russia and discuss mutual cooperation, Yoon said on Oct. 28. A Ukrainian delegation will also visit South Korea, Zelensky revealed.
The growing North Korean support for Russia’s war, namely the dispatch of troops, sparked discussions in South Korea on revising internal legislation to allow military supplies to Ukraine.
Zelensky also invited South Korea to join the G7 declaration made in Vilnius last year, based on which dozens of countries signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine.
North Korean troops possibly heading to front lines, language barrier causing problems, says South Korea
The assessment comes shortly after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed on Oct. 28 that North Korea had sent troops to Russia following a meeting with South Korean defense and intelligence officials.
