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SKorea: NKorea Troops Must Leave Russia10/21 06:20
South Korea on Monday demanded the immediate pullout of North Korean troops
allegedly deployed in Russia as it summoned the Russian ambassador to protest
deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea on Monday demanded the immediate
pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia as it summoned the
Russian ambassador to protest deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang
and Moscow.
South Korea's spy agency said Friday it had confirmed that North Korea sent
1,500 special operation forces to Russia this month to support Moscow's war
against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said his
government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being
prepared to join invading Russian forces.
During a meeting with Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev, Vice South Korean
Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun "condemned in the strongest terms" North Korea's
troop dispatch that he said poses "a grave security threat" to South Korea and
the international community, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a
statement.
Kim said that South Korea in collaboration with the international community
will mobilize all available means to deal with an act that threatens its vital
national security interests, according to the statement. The Russian Embassy
quoted Zinoviev as saying that the Russian-North Korean cooperation is not
aimed against the security interests of South Korea.
In a telephone call with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday, South
Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that Seoul won't sit idly by "reckless"
military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. Yoon said South Korea will
soon send a delegation to NATO to exchange information about Russian-North
Korean cooperation, according to Yoon's office. Rutte wrote on X that North
Korea possibly fighting alongside Russia would "mark a significant escalation."
The U.S. and NATO haven't confirmed that North Korean troops were sent to
Russia. But the reports of their presence have already stoked concerns in South
Korea that Russia might provide North Korea with sophisticated technologies
that can sharply enhance the North's nuclear and missile programs in return for
its troop dispatch.
North Korea's advancing nuclear arsenal is a major security threat to South
Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently took steps to permanently
terminate all relations with South Korea and threatened to use nuclear weapons
preemptively. Some observers say South Korea will likely consider supplying
weapons to Ukraine if Russian transfers of high-tech nuclear and missile
technologies to North Korea are verified.
South Korea has joined U.S.-led sanctions against Moscow over its invasion
of Ukraine in February 2022. But South Korea hasn't directly provided arms to
Kyiv, citing its longstanding policy of not supplying weapons to countries
actively engaged in conflicts.
Russia has earlier denied using North Korean troops in its war with Ukraine.
North Korea's state media hasn't commented on the matter. Ukrainian officials
released a video allegedly showing North Korean soldiers lining up to collect
Russian military clothes and bags at an unknown location. The Associated Press
couldn't verify the footage independently.
Asked about the North Korean troops during a conference call with reporters
Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that "we are seeing a lot of
contradictory information."
"South Koreans say one thing, then the Pentagon says it has no confirmation
of such statements. There is a lot of contradictory information," Peskov said.
"It must be treated as such."
North Korea's troop deployment to Russia would be its first participation in
a major war since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Many experts question how
much North Korean troops would help Russia on the battlefield, citing their
lack of combat experience.
Cooperation between North Korea and Russia has flourished over the past two
years. The U.S., South Korea and their partners have accused North Korea of
supplying conventional arms to Russia in return for economic and military
assistance. In June, Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact
stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is attacked.
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