(Bloomberg) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol convened an emergency security meeting on Friday to discuss the deployment of North Korean combat troops to help Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.
The meeting “shared information on the recent movement of North Korean troops into Russia and their support for the war,” according to a statement from Yoon’s office. It didn’t specify how many personnel were sent or what their roles were.
The deployment poses a “serious security threat” to South Korea and the international community, according to the statement.
The meeting took place about a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that North Korea is preparing to send 10,000 troops to help Russia. Ukraine officials have for weeks said that North Korean soldiers were fighting in Ukraine, without providing evidence.
South Korean intelligence authorities believe Pyongyang recently decided to send 12,000 troops to Ukraine, Yonhap News reported. The movement of troops has started, Yonhap reported, citing an unidentified official from South Korea’s spy agency.
The deployment, if confirmed, would mark a major step in Pyongyang’s cooperation with Moscow after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed in June to provide immediate military assistance if one of them is attacked. North Korea maintains around 1.28 million active troops, according to South Korea’s defense white paper.
Washington and Seoul have accused Kim of sending artillery shells and ballistic missiles to Russia to aid the Kremlin, charges Pyongyang and Moscow deny.
(Updates with details in second paragraph)
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