North Korea to send 12,000 troops to fight alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine: Seoul

North Korea on Friday (Oct 18) has decided to send "large scale troops" to support Russia amid its war with Ukraine, and will be sending 12,000 soldiers to the war, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported citing Seoul's spy agency.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service said it has learned that the North has recently decided to send four brigades of 12,000 soldiers, including special forces, to Ukraine to fight alongside Russian soldiers, reported Yonhap.

Zelensky hints at troops deployed on border

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This comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Pyongyang is preparing to send around 10,000 soldiers to Russia and called it a "big problem".

Citing Ukrainian intelligence reports, he said that North Korean personnel have already been deployed in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

"We know about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea that they are preparing to send to fight against us," Zelensky said during a press conference in Brussels after the European Union summit. "That's really, I think, a big problem."

Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for a security meeting on Friday and said the international community must respond with "all available means".

According to Seoul's spy agency, 1,500 North Korean troops have already arrived in Russia. Some anonymous sources told South Korean media the final figure could be closer to 12,000.

Russia and North Korea have boostedtheir defence and diplomatic relationsin the past months.

Watch |Russia and North Korea sign strategic partnership treaty

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin on his birthday and called him his "closest comrade".

Earlier this week, a military source in Russia’s Far East told BBC Russian, that “a number of North Koreans have arrived” and were stationed in one of the military bases near Ussuriysk, to the north of Vladivostok.

However, some military experts fear that the Russian military units will have difficulties working with North Korean troops due to the language barrier and also because Pyongyang'sarmy has no recent experience in combat operations.

“They could guard some sections of the Russian-Ukrainian border, which would free Russian units for fighting elsewhere,” Valeriy Ryabykh, editor of the Ukrainian publication Defence Express, said.

“I would rule out the possibility that these units will immediately appear on the front line.”

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.