South Korea summoned Russia’s ambassador to demand the “immediate removal” of North Korean soldiers, which it claims are being trained for fighting in Ukraine.
According to Seoul’s spy agency, about 1,500 North Korean soldiers have already arrived in Russia. This includes special forces.
Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea’s Vice-Foreign Minister, denounced this move in a meeting with Ambassador Georgiy Zinoviev and warned that Seoul would “respond with all available measures”.
Mr Zinoviev said that he would relay concerns but stressed that the collaboration between Moscow and Pyongyang “is within the framework of international laws”.
It is unclear to what he referred. The ambassador did confirm that North Korea had sent troops to fight alongside the Russian military.
Later on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said to reporters that the cooperation between the countries is “not directed towards third countries”.
According to Russian state news agency Tass, he added that “nobody should be worried” about it.
Pyongyang is yet to comment on the allegations.
South Korea has accused the North for years of supplying Russia with weapons used in the war against Ukraine. However, it claims that the current situation goes beyond the transfer of materials.
According to some South Korean media reports, as many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers could be deployed.
Kim said that the situation “not only threatens South Korea, but also the international community.”
Moscow and Pyongyang increased their cooperation after their leaders Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, signed a security agreement in June. The agreement stated that both countries would help each other if “aggression” was committed against either country.
Last week, Putin presented a bill for ratifying the pact.
Mark Rutte, Nato Secretary General, said that Pyongyang sending troops to fight against Russia would “mark a significant escalation in the conflict”.
In a telephone call with Rutte, South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yul urged the alliance on Monday to explore “concrete measures”, adding that he would take steps to enhance security cooperation between South Korea and Nato.
According to Yoon’s Office, British Foreign Minister David Lammy who is visiting Seoul called Russia’s actions’reckless and illegal’, adding that London would collaborate with Seoul to respond.
Japan and the United States have also condemned the strengthening military ties between North Korea & Russia.
In response to a BBC query about the alleged North Korea/Russia cooperation, Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that China hopes that all parties will work together to de-escalate and find a political solution to Ukraine crisis.
BBC Korean reported that some defence experts believe that North Korea’s involvement in the war could complicate it.
Moon Seong-mok, Korea National Strategy Institute, said that North Korea’s involvement in the conflict could lead to a greater international participation and potentially attract more countries.
Dr Moon said that the international community would likely increase sanctions and put pressure on both Russia, and North Korea. However, it is still unclear whether North Korea’s participation will benefit either country.
Others, however, believe that the Russian military will have difficulty integrating North Korean troops in their frontlines.
They said that the North Korean army, apart from the language barrier and recent combat experience, has no recent combat experience.
Valeriy Ryabykh is the editor of Defence Express in Ukraine. He said that the North Korean soldiers may be asked to guard parts of the Russian-Ukrainian borders, which would free up Russian units for other conflicts.
He said: “I would exclude the possibility that these unit will appear immediately on the frontline.”
Additional reporting by Sangmi Han and Jake Kwon in Seoul
Published on 4 May
Published 5 days ago
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