Putin vows trade, security beyond West for North Korea
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a letter published by North Korean state media, pledged his unwavering support of the isolated state.
South Korea’s foreign minister summoned the Russian ambassador on Monday over ] North Korea’s alleged deployments of its troops to join the Russian military in its fight against Ukraine.
Kim Hong-Kyun, the South Korean vice minister, wants North Korea to immediately withdraw its soldiers from Russia. The North Korean troops’ dispatch constitutes a violation of the U.N. charter and resolutions and threatens South Korea’s security, the ministry said in a statement.
“We condemn North Korea’s illegal military cooperation, including its dispatch of troops to Russia, in the strongest terms,” Kim told Zinoviev, according to the South Korean ministry. “We will respond jointly with the international community by mobilising all available means against acts that threaten our core security interests.”
Zinoviev countered that Russia’s and North Korea’s cooperation was in line with international law, and was not directed against South Korea, according to a Facebook post from the Russian embassy.
Reports that Russia will deploy North Korean troops in its war with Ukraine are unconfirmed. The Kremlin earlier denied the reports.
South Korea’s Intelligence Service said on Friday that North Korea had shipped 1,500 special forces to train at Russian military bases in the Far East. The troops would likely be deployed to fight in Ukraine, the spy agency said.
The agency said it worked with Ukraine’s spies and used facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence to identify North Korean military officers alongside Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also accused North Korea of sending 10,000 troops to Russia.
South Korea’s defense ministry said it had consulted with the U.S. on Monday. The White House National Security Council said it couldn’t confirm the reports, but if true, it “would mark a dangerous development” in the war, according to a spokesperson.
Mark Rutte, the Secretary-General of NATO, said on X that he spoke with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. North Korea sending troops to the conflict “would mark a significant escalation,” he wrote.
Contributing: Reuters