South Korea summons Russian envoy to protest against North Korea troop dispatch
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A man walks past a newspaper displayed on a street in Seoul on Oct 21, 2024, with coverage on North Korea's decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to Ukraine's front lines.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL - South Korea’s Foreign Ministry summoned on Oct 21 the Russian ambassador in Seoul in protest over what it has called the sending of North Korean troops to Russia for deployment in Ukraine
The Kremlin declined to directly answer a query on whether North Korean troops were going to fight in Ukraine, but said that it was Moscow’s sovereign right to develop ties with Pyongyang in all areas.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s cooperation with Pyongyang was not directed against third countries.
South Korea’s first Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun called in Russian ambassador Georgy Zinoviev and urged the immediate withdrawal of North Korean soldiers from Russia, the ministry said in a statement.
The Kremlin has previously dismissed South Korean assertions that the North may have sent some military personnel to help Russia against Ukraine.
Mr Kim said the participation of North Korean troops in the Ukraine war violated UN resolutions and the UN charter, and posed serious threats to the security of South Korea and beyond.
“We condemn North Korea’s illegal military cooperation, including its dispatch of troops to Russia, in the strongest terms,” Mr Kim was quoted as saying. “We will respond jointly with the international community by mobilising all available means against acts that threaten our core security interests.”
Mr Zinoviev told Mr Kim that Moscow-Pyongyang cooperation was in line with international law and was not directed against the security interests of South Korea, the Russian embassy said in a Facebook post.
South Korea’s spy agency last week said North Korea had shipped 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s Far East for training and acclimatising at local military bases, and that they were likely to be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Pyongyang of preparing to send 10,000 soldiers to Russia, and on Oct 20 urged strong reaction from countries.
Dangerous development
The United States said on Oct 18 it could not confirm reports that North Korean troops were fighting but said that if true, it would be a “dangerous development” in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
South Korea’s Defence Ministry on Oct 21 said Seoul had consulted Washington ahead of the spy agency’s announcement, and condemned what it called the North’s illegal involvement in Ukraine and urged an immediate halt.
Nato chief Mark Rutte, after a phone call on Oct 21 with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, said on social media platform X that if the North were to send troops to Ukraine to fight on Russia’s behalf, it would significantly escalate the conflict.
Mr Yoon’s office said he agreed with Mr Rutte’s suggestion for Seoul to send a government delegation to Nato to share more information about North Korea’s moves.
Mr Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said Beijing hoped that all parties would work to de-escalate the situation.
Both Russia and North Korea have denied arms transfers but have pledged to boost military ties, signing a mutual defence treaty at a summit in June. REUTERS
