The South Korean President has warned Kyiv that North Korean troops could be deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine “sooner than expected.”
A South Korean official said on Tuesday following an intelligence agency briefing that Russian troops could also be heading to the frontlines with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) soldiers.
Lee Seong-kweun did not say when the DPRK will arrive, but said there will likely be language barriers which could affect their effectiveness on the frontlines.
Reuters reported, Lee said, “The Russian military was teaching the North Korean military some 100 Russian military terms such as ‘back to your position,’ ‘fire’ and ‘launch’… but the North Korean military was struggling (to understand).”
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Later this week a South Korean delegation will arrive in Ukraine to share vital information on the North Korean troops, the South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said.
On Tuesday President Volodymyr Zelensky and Yeol had a phone call to discuss the DPRK troops in Russia and fighting against them inside Ukraine.
Zelensky said, “I provided my colleague with fresh data on 3,000 North Korean troops transferred to training facilities in the immediate vicinity of the combat zone.”
President Zelensky warned that the 3,000 troops will soon turn into 12,000 North Korean soldiers fighting which could change the cause of the war for Vladimir Putin.
Both Presidents agreed during the phone call to “strengthen the sharing of intelligence and expertise and to intensify contacts on all levels, including on the highest level, to develop a response strategy and a list of countermeasures,” Zelensky confirmed.
The Yonhap news agency reported that Yoon will visit Ukraine following comments made by the NATO chief DPRK forces are in Russia.
Yoon said, “I hope that under Secretary General Rutte’s leadership, NATO will redouble efforts to monitor and block illegal exchanges between Russia and North Korea in solidarity and coordination.”
Yoon said that they will brief the EU Political and Security Committee on Tuesday and will then travel to Ukraine for an intelligence briefing with officials.
He added, “It is a grave situation where the actual deployment of North Korean troops to the front lines in Ukraine could happen sooner than expected.”
