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Seoul warns North Korean troops in Russia moving to frontline

In a pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toast during a reception at the Mongnangwan Reception House in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. (Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP/Getty Images) Editor’s note : this image is distributed by the Russian state owned agency Sputnik  (Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP)
By Soo-Hyang Choi Bloomberg News

South Korea warned that North Korean troops and generals dispatched to Russia to aid Moscow’s war on Ukraine are possibly moving to the frontline, in a sign the conflict is on the verge of spreading and dragging in new players.

The National Intelligence Service is “trying to confirm the possible movement” of North Korean troops to the frontline, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun said after the spy agency briefed parliamentarians in a closed-door session Tuesday. The assessment comes after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday the troops could join the battlefield earlier than expected, without giving further details.

North Korea’s possible direct involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has added a new twist to the war, and U.S. and its allies have described it as a turning point in the two-and-half year old conflict. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed earlier that some North Korean military units have been sent to the Kursk region where Ukrainian forces made gains this year in what he described as a “significant escalation.”

As Ukraine and its allies mull response to the troops dispatch, North Korea sent its Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui to Russia for her third trip in less than a year, according to the official Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday. Choe is expected to discuss with her Russian counterparts additional deployment, Lee said.

It’s still unclear how the North Korean troops will aid Russia’s fight against Ukraine, as well as when or if they will engage in combat. North Korea plans to dispatch about 10,000 troops to Russia, NIS estimates, which while is unlikely to tip the balance of power, the involvement of Moscow’s ally risks dragging the divided Korean peninsula into the conflict.

Seoul, which has raised the prospect of supplying arms to Ukraine in response, is sending high-ranking officials to Ukraine to share information and discuss possible areas of cooperation.

Russia is trying to teach North Korean soldiers about a hundred of its military vocabulary but it’s unclear if they will manage to overcome the language barrier, Lee said, citing the spy agency.

The deepening ties between North Korea and Russia have alarmed South Korea and its allies, and they have been discussing options to counter the move.

In Pyongyang, North Korea has stepped up security for leader Kim Jong Un over possible assassination attempts, lawmaker Park Sun-won who was also briefed by the spy agency told reporters.

Choe’s last public visit to Moscow was in January when she held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting the U.S. and its partners saw as facilitating arms shipments from North Korea. The visit was followed by Putin’s Pyongyang trip in June where he agreed with Kim to provide immediate military assistance if one of them is attacked.

The frequent high-level delegation visit is a sign of growing friendship between Putin and Kim, after they have become increasingly isolated by leading democracies. The U.S. and South Korea have accused Kim of sending millions of rounds of artillery shells and scores of ballistic missiles to Putin, in exchange for aid propping up North Korea’s economy and advancing its weapons systems.

“We are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk near the border with Ukraine,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday, adding that around 10,000 troops have arrived in eastern Russia.

What option to employ in response may divide the U.S. and its allies. They will have to decide whether to match escalation with escalation over North Korea’s moves. Pyongyang’s troops arrive in Russia at a time when Ukraine is also desperate for more manpower and as it tries to maintain its grip on the territory in Kursk to shore up its bargaining power for the possibility of eventual talks with Moscow.