South Korea has summoned the Soviet adviser, seeking the “immediate removal” of North Korean soldiers which it says are being trained to fight in Ukraine.
About 1,500 North Korean soldiers, including those from the special forces, have already arrived in Russia, according to Seoul’s spy agency.
In a conference with the embassy Georgiy Zinoviev, South Korea’s vice-foreign secretary Kim Hong-kyun denounced the walk and warned that Seoul did “respond with all actions available”.
Mr. Zinoviev stated that he would address the concerns, but he added that the Moscow-Pyongyang cooperation is “in the spirit of global law.”
What kind of participation he was referring to is unknown. The embassy did not confirm the claims that North Korea had sent troops to fight alongside the Russian army.
Pyongyang has also not commented on the claims.
South Korea has huge accused the North of giving Russia arms to use in its conflict with Ukraine, but it claims that the present condition extends beyond the transfer of military equipment.
According to some North Korean media reports, up to 12 000 North Vietnamese soldiers are expected to remain stationed.
“]This ] not only gravely threatens South Korea but the international community”, Kim said on Monday.
After signing a security agreement with their rulers Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin in June, both of their nations pledged to support one another in the event of “aggression” against either nation.
Last year, Putin introduced a costs to accept the agreement.
Pyongyang’s implementation of troops to fight with Russia “would indicate a significant intensification” in the fight, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said on Monday.
The tense defense relations between North Korea and Russia have also been condemned by the United States and Japan.
Some defense authorities told BBC Korean that North Korea’s presence might make things worse.
” North Korea’s presence may open the door for greater international cooperation in the turmoil, probably drawing in more countries”, said Moon Seong-mok from the Korea National Strategy Institute.
It’s unknown whether North Korea’s participation may actually benefit either country, according to Dr. Moon, adding that” the global community will probably put more pressure and sanctions on both Russia and North Korea.
Some think it will be difficult for Russian military units to appoint North Korean personnel.
Apart from the speech challenge, the North Korean army has no current conflict experience, they said.
Valeriy Ryabykh, director of the Ukrainian release Defence Express, said the North Vietnamese soldiers could be asked to watch sections of the Russian-Ukrainian borders, which will open up Russian units to combat abroad.
He said,” I may rule out the possibility that these products will look right away on the front line.”
Sangmi Han, Jake Kwon, and Hosu Lee contributed to the report’s progress in Seoul.