The South Korean delegation will visit Ukraine this week. Representatives of Seoul plan to share information about sending North Korean troops to Russia. It is reported Yonhap News Agency.
According to the publication, South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol shared the plan during a telephone conversation with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte, who confirmed that North Korean troops were stationed in the Kursk region of Russia, on the front line to participate in the war in Ukraine.
"I hope that, under Secretary General Rutte's leadership, NATO will redouble efforts to monitor and block illicit exchanges between Russia and North Korea in solidarity and coordination," - he said.
What is known about the visit of the South Korean delegation to Ukraine
Yoon Seok-yeol said the South Korean delegation is set to hold a briefing for the EU's Political and Security Committee on Tuesday and then visit Ukraine to meet with intelligence and defense officials to share information from the battlefield and discuss cooperation measures.
In his second telephone conversation with Yun in a week, Rutte said the involvement of North Korean forces in the war in Ukraine was a "top priority" for NATO and expressed hope for continued discussions on countermeasures and information sharing related to the conflict.
Before speaking with Rutte, Jung had a separate phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to share information on North Korea's troop movements and discuss cooperation with European Union members.
"This is a serious situation, when the actual deployment of North Korean troops on the front line in Ukraine may take place earlier than expected," — Yun noted.
South Korea and the United States have said North Korea has sent about 3000 troops to eastern Russia, and Seoul's intelligence agency expects about 10 troops to be deployed by December.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that North Korean forces could join the conflict earlier than expected, potentially "within days."
"This illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea fundamentally undermines the rules-based international order and threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and around the world." Yun said.
Yun called for the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops and an end to military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, promising to explore "practical countermeasures" with the EU and its member states.
"We will take step-by-step measures depending on the development of Russian-North Korean military cooperation," — he said.
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