Updated on Oct. 21, 2024 5:35 a.m. E.T.
South Korea summoned Russia’s ambassador on Monday to demand that it stops the involvement of North Korean troops in the war in Ukraine while the embassy insisted that cooperation with North Korea was “not directed against” South Korean security interests.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was seeking a "strong reaction" from those countries that had acknowledged that North Korea was becoming more involved in Russia's war against his country. South Korea's spy agency said last Friday that North Korea had sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia for training.
Russia’s embassy, in comments issued after South Korea summoned Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev to urge “immediate” action to withdraw North Korean troops from the war in Ukraine, said cooperation with North Korea was “within the framework of international law” and not aimed at the South.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, said Russia would maintain its cooperation with North Korea, the AFP news agency reported.
“North Korea is our close neighbor and partner and we develop relations in all areas and it's our sovereign right. We will continue developing this cooperation further,” Peskov told journalists, while declining to answer a question on whether Russia is using North Korean troops.
Peskov on Oct. 10 dismissed speculation of North Korean troops going to Ukraine as “fake news.”
Separately, NATO chief Mark Rutte said that he had spoken with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol about the bloc’s partnership with the South.
“North Korea sending troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine would mark a significant escalation,” said Rutte, without elaborating.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service released last Friday detailed satellite images it said showed a first deployment, saying it estimated the North could send about 12,000 soldiers.
The United States said it could not confirm the report, while North Korea had remained silent at time of publication.
Zelenskyy, speaking in his nightly video address on Sunday, said there was ample satellite and video evidence that North Korea was sending not only equipment to Russia, but also soldiers to be prepared for deployment.
“I am grateful to those leaders and representatives of states who do not close their eyes and speak frankly about this cooperation for the sake of a larger war. We expect a normal, honest, strong reaction from our partners on this,” he said.
“If the world remains silent now and we have to engage soldiers from North Korea on the front line in the same way we have to defend ourselves from [Iranian] Shahed drones, this will certainly benefit no one in the world and only prolong the war,” Zelenskyy added.
“Unfortunately, instability and threats can significantly increase after North Korea becomes trained for modern warfare.”
South Korea’s presidential office said North Korea’s troop movement to Russia was being closely tracked in coordination with its allies, and the South would continue to monitor the situation and take all necessary measures proactively.
Closer ties
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday he could not confirm reports that North Korea had sent troops to Russia ahead of a possible deployment, but added that it would be concerning, if true.
The foreign ministers of France and Ukraine said on Saturday that the involvement of North Korean regular troops to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would be a serious escalation of the war.
In South Korea, the ruling People Power party warned of the possibility of North Korea using the advanced military technology Russia is expected to provide in return for the deployment to provoke South Korea.
“The party will actively support our government’s policies and put the safety of our people first,” it said on Monday.
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North Korea and Russia have moved noticeably closer over the past year or more amid widespread suspicion that North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
A day before South Korea’s announcement, Zelenskyy cited Ukrainian intelligence reports saying that North Korean personnel had already been deployed in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, with an additional 10,000 troops being prepared to join the fight.
He suggested that Russia was relying on North Korean forces to compensate for its substantial troop losses, as many young Russians seek to avoid conscription. The Ukraine government estimated that, as of Sunday, Russian casualties were almost 680,000 since the start of the war.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun told lawmakers in early October that North Korea was likely planning to send troops to Ukraine to fight alongside Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly submitted a bill to the lower house of parliament on Monday to ratify a treaty to raise its relationship with North Korea to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was agreed by Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 19 in Pyongyang after summit talks during the Russian president's state visit.
The new partnership includes a mutual defense assistance clause that would apply in the case of “aggression” against one of the signatories.
Edited by Mike Firn.
Updated to include information about South Korea summoning Russia’s ambassador as well as comments from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.