AFP reported that on October 21, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Russian Ambassador to Seoul to criticize Pyongyang's decision to send thousands of soldiers to support Moscow's conflict in Ukraine, and called for an immediate withdrawal.
The South Korean intelligence agency said that about 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers have arrived in Russia to adapt and are likely to soon be deployed to the front line, while the next forces will soon leave in Pyongyang's first deployment abroad.
South Korea expressed concern about Pyongyang's deployment, which comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed the Russia-North Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty in June.
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun expressed "Seoul's deep concern over North Korea's recent troop deployment to Russia, strongly calling for an immediate withdrawal and an end to the cooperation involved," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Deputy Minister Kim Hong-kyun told Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev that North Korea's provision of weapons and soldiers to Russia to participate in the conflict in Ukraine " poses a major security threat not only to South Korea but also to the international community".
Mr. Kim Hong-kyun also emphasized that such actions violate many resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Charter.
Previously, on October 18, the National Intelligence Service of South Korea (NIS) released satellite images showing elite North Korean soldiers being taken to Vladivostok by Russian military ships.
The NIS said on October 8 13. "North Korea has transported its special forces to Russia by Russian Navy transport ship, confirming North Korea's first military involvement" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The first group of troops - which South Korean media said was from an elite unit of the North Korean Special Forces, also known as the "Storm Army" - are currently stationed at military bases across Russia's Far East.
According to the NIS, the special forces are "expected to be deployed to the frontline (of the Ukrainian conflict) immediately after completing the adaptation training course".
The NIS also said that North Korea has "provided Russia with more than 13,000 containers of artillery shells, missiles, anti-tank missiles and other deadly weapons" since August last year.
North Korea and Russia have been allies since the establishment of the DPRK after World War II and have become closer since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in 2022.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted intelligence reports that North Korea is training 10,000 soldiers to support Russia in its fight against Kiev.
