Key facts
- South Korea's foreign ministry is monitoring military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Russia is preparing to receive an additional 30,000 North Korean troops.
- Zelenskyy also alleged Pyongyang is preparing to transfer ballistic missile launchers to Russia.
- The ministry stated that military cooperation violating UN Security Council resolutions must cease.
- No confirmed signs of additional North Korean troop deployment have been observed by South Korean government sources.
- North Korea is believed to have already sent around 20,000 troops and engineers to support Russia's war.
South Korea's foreign ministry announced it is closely monitoring military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, following claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Moscow is preparing to receive an additional 30,000 North Korean troops for its war against Ukraine. Zelenskyy also alleged that Pyongyang is preparing to transfer additional ballistic missile launchers to Russia, though he provided no specific details or intelligence to support these assertions.
The South Korean government stated it is closely observing these developments and reiterated its stance that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, which violates United Nations Security Council resolutions, must cease immediately. However, government sources have indicated that there are currently no confirmed signs of an additional deployment of North Korean troops.
It is believed that North Korea has already deployed approximately 20,000 troops and military engineers to support Russia's war efforts, with an estimated 14,000 currently serving on the front lines. These developments follow a recent visit by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui to Moscow, where she met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, fueling speculation about further military ties between the two nations.