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South Korean delegation to brief NATO, EU officials on North's troop deployment to Russia

Published: 25 Oct. 2024, 18:47 Updated: 25 Oct. 2024, 18:56

Soldiers believed to be from North Korea are standing in line to receive supplies from Russia on Oct. 19 in a screen capture of video footage released by the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security, or Spravdi. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A South Korean government delegation will visit Belgium next week to share information with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU) officials about North Korea's troop deployment to Russia, Seoul's spy agency said Friday.

Seoul's delegation, led by Hong Jang-won, the first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), will visit NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday to brief on the deepening military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, the agency said in a statement.

Representatives from all 32 NATO member countries are expected to attend the briefing, which will be followed by another briefing session at the EU's Political and Security Committee, according to the NIS.

The visit is a follow-up measure after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had requested the dispatch of a South Korean team during a phone conversation with President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday.

In addition, the delegation will hold talks with Rutte and other senior NATO and EU officials.

South Korea and the United States have said North Korea sent around 3,000 troops to eastern Russia, with the NIS expecting about 10,000 soldiers to be deployed by December.

On Friday, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans wrote on his X account, formerly known as Twitter, that intelligence indicates Russia is deploying at least 1,500 North Korean soldiers, possibly for a deployment to Russia's western border area.

The deployment of a significant contingent of North Korean troops, including elite military units, would mark a major enhancement of the North's military ties with Russia, which had previously been limited to supplying artillery shells and short-range ballistic missiles.

Seoul is concerned that North Korean troops could actively support Russian forces in its prolonged war with Ukraine, which it views as a violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.

(yonhap)