South Korea sends delegation to Ukraine because of DPRK troops in Russia
Kyiv • UNN
The South Korean president announced that a delegation will visit Ukraine to discuss the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. The delegation will brief the EU and meet with Ukrainian intelligence and defense officials.
South Korean President Yun Seok-yol said on Monday that a South Korean delegation will visit Ukraine this week to share information about North Korean troops being sent to Russia and discuss cooperation measures. UNN reported this with reference to Yonhap news agency.
Details
Yoon made the announcement during a phone call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who confirmed that North Korean troops had been deployed in Russia's Kursk region.
"I hope that under the leadership of Secretary General Rutte, NATO will redouble its efforts to monitor and block illegal exchanges between Russia and North Korea in a spirit of solidarity and coordination," Yun said.
The South Korean president said that on Tuesday, the South Korean delegation will hold a briefing for the EU's Political and Security Committee and then visit Ukraine to meet with intelligence and defense officials to exchange information on the DPRK military and discuss cooperation measures.
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In his second phone call with Yoon in a week, Rutte said North Korean involvement in the war in Ukraine is a "top priority" for NATO and expressed hope for continued discussions on countermeasures and information sharing on the issue.
Prior to this, Yun reportedly held a separate phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "This is a serious situation where the actual deployment of North Korean troops on the front line in Ukraine may occur earlier than expected," Yun was quoted as saying.
Yun called for the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops and an end to military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, promising to explore "practical measures in response" with the EU and its member states. "We will take step-by-step measures depending on developments in military cooperation between Russia and North Korea," he said.
During the phone conversation, von der Leyen expressed "grave concern" about the North Korean military deployment, which she said is in flagrant violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions.
She said that the recent developments are a "serious" issue that further exacerbates the conflict in Ukraine and emphasized the EU's readiness to actively cooperate with South Korea to address growing security threats.