Top officials from South Korea and the European Union have expressed strong condemnation of North Korea’s reported deployment of troops to Russia, aimed at supporting Moscow in its ongoing war against Ukraine. During a meeting in Seoul on Monday, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell voiced their serious concerns about the situation and pledged to collaborate in efforts to curb the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
The alleged troop deployment poses a potential escalation of the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine and raises security alarms in South Korea. Many fear that Russia may reciprocate by providing North Korea with advanced weaponry or a defense agreement in the event of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
The U.S. government reported last week that approximately 8,000 North Korean soldiers were near Russia’s border with Ukraine, preparing to join the fight against Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged international allies to take decisive action before these troops become active in combat.
Intelligence assessments from the U.S., South Korea, and Ukraine suggest that North Korea has dispatched between 10,000 and 12,000 troops to Russia. If deployed to the battlefield, this would mark North Korea’s first large-scale military involvement since the Korean War ended in 1953.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is leveraging the Russia-Ukraine war to enhance defense and economic ties with Russia, particularly as he faces increasing pressure from the U.S. over his nuclear ambitions. Accusations have been made against North Korea for exporting artillery shells, missiles, and other conventional arms to Russia.
In recent developments, North Korea has reportedly constructed anti-tank trench-like structures near its heavily fortified border with South Korea. These constructions follow a series of aggressive actions, including the demolition of cross-border transport routes, indicating heightened tensions.
The South Korean military briefing revealed that the newly built structures, one extending approximately 160 meters and the other about 120 meters, could be utilized strategically in the event of conflict. The Joint Chiefs of Staff noted that the trenches could be filled with nearby dirt to create routes for invasion if hostilities were to break out. Last week, North Korea also test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to target the U.S. mainland for the first time in nearly a year.