South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said today it has indications that some North Korean troops may already be moving to fight in Ukraine.
"Troop transfers between North Korea and Russia are ongoing and we are studying the possibility of some personnel, including military generals, moving to the front," the NIS said.
The Russian military is teaching North Koreans about 100 Russian terms to try to prevent "communication problems," it added, as quoted by South Korea's state-run Yonhap news agency.
"We believe that a senior Russian security official involved in the North Korean troop deployment was on board the Russian government's special plane that flew between Moscow and Pyongyang on October 23 and 24," the NIS said, indicating that the purpose of the trip was to coordinate the troop deployment.
Military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang poses a "significant threat to the security of the international community and could pose a serious security risk" to South Korea, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said.
On Monday, the US Department of Defense announced that about 10,000 North Korean troops were being sent to train in Russia and fight in Ukraine in the coming weeks.
"We are increasingly concerned about Russia's intention to use these troops in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region," a Pentagon spokeswoman told reporters.
Sabrina Singh recalled that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had already publicly warned that if North Korean troops were used on the battlefield, they would be considered belligerents and legitimate targets, with serious implications for security in the Indo-Pacific region.
Austin is scheduled to meet with South Korean defense officials later this week at the Pentagon, where the use of North Korean troops in the Ukraine conflict is expected to be discussed.
Also on Monday, NATO said some North Korean troops had already been deployed to the Kursk border region, where Russia has been trying to repel a Ukrainian incursion that began this summer.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui left on Monday for an official visit to Russia, North Korea's state news agency KCNA said, without giving a reason for the trip.
