SEOUL — North Korea has shipped 1,500 particular forces troops to Russia’s far east for coaching and acclimatizing at native navy bases and can seemingly be deployed for fight within the battle in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy company stated on Friday.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) additionally stated it had been working with Ukrainian intelligence service and had used facial recognition synthetic intelligence expertise to establish North Korean officers in japanese Ukraine’s Donetsk area supporting Russian forces firing North Korean missiles.
In greater than 13,000 containers, North Korea has shipped artillery rounds, ballistic missiles and anti-tank rockets to Russia since August final 12 months, the company stated, based mostly on the remnants of weapons recovered from the battle entrance in Ukraine.
In all, greater than eight million artillery and rocket rounds have been shipped to Russia, it stated.
“The direct navy cooperation between Russia and North Korea that has been reported by international media has now been formally confirmed,” the spy company stated in a press release.
Earlier, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol known as an unscheduled safety assembly with key intelligence, navy and nationwide safety officers to debate North Korean troops’ involvement in Russia’s battle in opposition to Ukraine, Yoon’s workplace stated.
“The members … shared the view that the present state of affairs the place Russia and North Korea’s nearer ties have gone past the motion of navy provides to precise dispatch of troops is a grave safety menace not solely to our nation however to the worldwide neighborhood,” it stated.
Yoon’s workplace stated South Korea, along with its allies, has been carefully monitoring North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia from the preliminary phases.
South Korea will reply to the North’s actions with all accessible means, it added, with out elaborating on what actions it would take.
South Korea, which has emerged as a significant international arms exporter, promoting fighter jets, mechanized howitzers and missiles, has come beneath stress from some Western allies together with Washington to assist arm Ukraine with deadly weapons however has stopped wanting overtly doing so.