Yoon shared the plan during a phone call with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte, who confirmed North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia's Kursk region, a front-line area in its conflict with Ukraine, after receiving a briefing from the South Korean delegation, according to Yoon's office.

"I hope that under Secretary General Rutte's leadership, NATO will redouble efforts to monitor and block illegal exchanges between Russia and North Korea in solidarity and coordination," Yoon was quoted as saying.

Yoon said the South Korean delegation is set to brief the EU Political and Security Committee on Tuesday, and then visit Ukraine to meet with intelligence and defense officials to share battlefield information and discuss cooperation measures.

In a second phone call with Yoon in a week, Rutte said the involvement of North Korean forces in the Ukraine war is a "top priority" for NATO and expressed hope for continued discussions on countermeasures and information sharing related to the conflict.

Ahead of the call, Yoon had a separate phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to share information on North Korea's troop movement and discuss cooperation with European Union members.

"It is a grave situation where the actual deployment of North Korean troops to the front lines in Ukraine could happen sooner than expected," Yoon was quoted as saying.

South Korea and the United States have said North Korea sent around 3,000 troops to eastern Russia, with Seoul's spy agency expecting about 10,000 soldiers to be deployed by December.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that North Korean forces could join the conflict sooner than anticipated, potentially "in a matter of days."

"This unlawful military cooperation between Russia and North Korea fundamentally undermines the rules-based international order and poses a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula and globally," Yoon said.

Yoon called for the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops and the cessation of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, vowing to explore "practical response measures" with the EU and its member countries.

"We will take phased measures depending on the developments in Russia-North Korea military cooperation," he said.

Last week, Yoon said Seoul could consider providing arms to Ukraine, in a possible shift from its policy of only sending humanitarian aid.

During the call, Von der Leyen expressed "serious concerns" over North Korea's troop deployment, which she noted blatantly violates international law and U.N. Security Council resolutions, according to Yoon's office.

The EU chief said the latest development is a "grave" issue that further escalates the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and highlighted the EU's readiness to cooperate actively with South Korea to address rising security threats, the office said.

by Hotrico

12 comments

  3. I’ve got this feeling we all know/feel where this is going… Greenlight Ukraine on all what they need already!!

  4. An official application for Nato membership together with Taiwan, phillipines, Japan and a few others in this region, or even better an invitation from Nato to these countries would be the only correct reaction.

  5. Doesn’t Korea make an incredible mobile Arty vehicle? Or was it an APC like the Bradley?

    Betcha they’d like some combat data.

    Send a bunch with some trainers and spec ops/intelligence to take captives and detectors

  6. Time for them to codevelope nuclear deterence… probably enough nuclear expertise between them to accomplish this rather expiditiously

  7. Come on, guys! Speed up the process as much as possible. We need arty shells and a lot of them and you can’t copy the USA who were fondling their old tits for half a year before doing anything constructive. The policy of “de-escalation” doesn’t work! Unfortunately, the old geezer Bidon is so far up the “lala land” he probably doesn’t differentiate between his wife and a bathroom doormat.

  9. It’s almost funny how every positive decision for Russia generates about five positive ones for Ukraine.

  11. And the Korean war is restarted, but fought in Russia and Ukraine….

    You know, the whole world did actually ended in 2012 sounds more reasonable every year.

Comments are closed.