Seoul: The foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU) is expected to visit South Korea next week, officials said Thursday, with discussions likely to address North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia. Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, will arrive in Seoul next Monday, following his stop in Japan, according to the European External Action Service.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Borrell will meet with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on the occasion of the first Strategic Dialogue, during which the two sides are likely to discuss the deepening military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. Given that the EU has declared its readiness to impose independent sanctions in response to North Korea’s deployment, they are likely to explore cooperative measures in addressing the issue.

Borrell will also hold talks with Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and visit the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. In a statement on Wednesday, Bor
rell strongly condemned the North’s deployment of troops to Russia, calling his upcoming visit to Seoul a “timely and important opportunity to discuss these worrying developments.”

On Monday, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia’s western front-line Kursk region.