Intelligence data from South Korea and the United States say that there are about 10,000 North Korean soldiers being trained in Russia.
The growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a major security threat to the entire world, says the president of South Korea.
– This illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a significant security threat to the international community and can seriously endanger our national security, says the South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol.
South Korean intelligence sources said a week ago that thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia.
– While the war in Ukraine continues for the third year, North Korea has moved from supplying Russia with weapons to also sending troops, says Yoon.
Yesterday, the US Department of Defense said that North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to the war in Ukraine. Troops are expected to take part in combat in the coming weeks once training is completed.
Yesterday also the Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte confirmed that North Korean soldiers have been deployed to the Kursk region of Russia near the Ukrainian border.
– We have to thoroughly go through all possibilities and prepare for countermeasures, Yoon says.
According to the President’s office, countermeasures should be taken in stages, depending on how cooperation between Russia and North Korea progresses.
The countries’ cooperation fundamentally shakes the rules-based international order and also threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and worldwide, Yoon adds.
North Korea’s foreign minister is traveling to Russia’s capital, Moscow, reports North Korea’s state news agency KCNA. No more detailed information was given about the foreign minister’s trip.
North Korea has rejected allegations of sending troops to Russia.
South Korea has already said in the past that it is reconsidering supplying weapons directly to Ukraine. So far, the South Korean regime has sold tanks, artillery and rocket launchers to Ukraine’s neighbor and ally Poland for billions of dollars.
Source: AFP