Ukrainian President: “The war has become international due to North Korean military intervention…” “Strengthening information exchange with Korea”

Ukraine’s president said North Korea’s intervention in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made the war international. They announced that they will jointly respond to this with the Korean government. Reporter Ahn So-young reports.

The Ukrainian President’s Office announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol had a phone call on the 29th to discuss the issue of sending North Korean troops to Russia.

[보도자료] “We consider the participation of North Korean servicemen in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the internationalization of the war and its expansion beyond the borders of the two states,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed. The President of Ukraine provided information about the deployment of 3,000 North Korean troops to Russian training grounds in the immediate vicinity of the area of hostilities and the expected increase in their number to about 12,000.”

The Office of the President of Ukraine issued a press release on this day and reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that “We regard the North Korean military’s intervention in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an internationalization of the war and its expansion beyond the borders of the two countries.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a speech in Reykjavik, Iceland on the 29th.

He added, “The President of Ukraine provided President Yoon with information that 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to a Russian training ground near the combat zone, and that this number is expected to increase to 12,000.”

The Office of the President of Ukraine said, “President Zelensky and President Yoon will strengthen the exchange of information and expertise, strengthen communication at all levels, including at the high level, develop an action strategy and list of countermeasures in response to the escalation of the situation, and engage mutual cooperation partners.” He added, “According to this agreement, Ukraine and Korea plan to send delegations to each other to coordinate measures in the near future.”

[보도자료] “Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Yoon Suk Yeol agreed to intensify the intelligence and expertise exchange, to strengthen contacts at all levels, including the highest, to develop an action strategy and a list of countermeasures in response to the escalation, and to engage mutual partners in cooperation. Under the agreement, Ukraine and the Republic of Korea will soon exchange delegations to coordinate actions.

“North Korean military threatens security if it gains experience from the Ukraine war”

On this day, the South Korean President’s Office also said that President Yoon had a phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky and said, “Our government will not sit idly by and watch the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea that threaten our security,” and added, “We will closely monitor the future battlefield situation and make effective step-by-step measures.” “We will take countermeasures,” he said.

On the 29th, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Photo source: Office of the President of Korea)

In particular, “The possibility of Russia transferring sensitive military technology to North Korea is a problem, but if North Korea, which has not fought a modern war since the Korean War, were to instill the experience gained in the Ukraine War with the entire North Korean military, which numbers more than 1 million people, it would be a huge risk to our security.” pointed out.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government previously announced on the 28th, “We believe North Korea has dispatched approximately 10,000 soldiers to eastern Russia for training.”

[녹취: 밀러 대변인] “We believe that North Korea has sent around 10,000 total soldiers to train in eastern Russia that will probably augment Russian forces. 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.” ”

“We have already seen some soldiers moving closer to Ukraine in the past few weeks,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a briefing on the day.

Meanwhile, on the 25th, North Korea also appeared to virtually admit its deployment of troops.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on this day, Kim Jong-gyu, North Korea’s vice-minister for Russian affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said regarding the report on the North Korean military’s deployment to Russia, “If there is such a thing that the international news world is talking about now, I think it would be an action in compliance with international legal norms.”

This is Ahn So-young from VOA News.