North Korea has reportedly deployed its troops in Russia to fight against Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict. Around 1,500 soldiers have already arrived in Russia, with an estimated total of 12,000 to come, reported South Korean media.
Earlier, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had also claimed that intelligence suggested around 10,000 North Korean soldiers could join the war on Russia’s side.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has warned the international community that this move is a “grave security threat” and called for action with “all available means” during a review meeting with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Friday.
The NIS told news agency Reuters that they had been working with Ukrainian intelligence services and had used facial recognition AI to identify North Korean officers in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region supporting Russian forces firing North Korean missiles.
A video purportedly showing North Korean soldiers arriving at a Russian military base for training also surfaced on social media.
The agency confirmed direct military aid from North Korea to Russia after using weapon remnants from Ukraine to identify artillery rounds, ballistic missiles and anti-tank rockets shipped in more than 13,000 containers to Russia since August, 2023.
South Korea believes upwards of eight million artillery and rocket rounds have been shipped to Russia.
Russia and North Korea have become close allies, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling Putin his “closest comrade” on the latter’s birthday last week.
The report by the South Korean agency has reached Washington as well, with an intelligence committee in the house of representatives asking president Joe Biden to have an immediate classified briefing with them to discuss the issue.