North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat operations against Ukraine alongside their Russian allies, South Korea’s spy agency said on Wednesday.
Seoul’s confirmation comes amid growing global criticism as the two countries strengthen military ties, after Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to Russia’s Kursk region to aid its war with Ukraine.
“The National Intelligence Service estimates that North Korean troops dispatched to Russia have moved to the Kursk region over the past two weeks,” the agency said in a statement.
One of the things that NATO has done in recent years is to strengthen its partnership with Indo-Pacific partners, and will do more of that in the weeks and months ahead.
They had completed deployment to the battlefield, and were already participating in combat operations, the statement added.
On Tuesday, North Korean state media said Pyongyang had ratified a mutual defence treaty with Russia signed in June by the two countries’ leaders providing for each to come to the other’s aid in case of an armed attack.