Washington: The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States have agreed to closely work together to respond to North Korean troops’ possible participation in Russia’s war in Ukraine and their additional deployment, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Friday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the issue at their bilateral talks in Washington on Thursday, following their “two plus two” meeting also involving the two countries’ defense chiefs, the ministry said in a release. “They shared concerns over the deepening ties between Russia and North Korea, including Pyongyang’s deployment of troops to the Kursk Oblast in Russia,” it said.

The diplomats agreed to coordinate closely and share related information on any indications of North Korean troops actually participating in combat and additional deployment. After the two plus two meeting, Blinken said the U.S. believes as many as 8,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Rus
sia’s western front-line Kursk region, and they are expected to enter into combat in the coming days.

Blinken also stated that approximately 10,000 North Korean troops are currently in Russia, and those already on the front lines would become “legitimate” military targets if deployed into combat against Ukrainian forces. On the bilateral alliance, Cho requested Blinken’s support in ensuring that the key achievements made under the Joe Biden administration are “handed over smoothly” to the next U.S. administration.

Blinken reaffirmed the firm bipartisan support for the alliance and his commitment to further strengthening bilateral ties, according to the Seoul ministry. In the talks, Cho emphasized South Korea’s commitment to playing a greater role in ensuring global peace and prosperity, and the need to “expand and modernize” the Group of Seven (G7) framework of advanced countries.

The two sides also agreed to continue efforts to hold a trilateral summit with Japan before the end of this year. In a separate
readout, the U.S. State Department said the two sides discussed efforts to further bolster bilateral cooperation on the full range of global and regional issues. “The two officials acknowledged a shared commitment to deepening the U.S.-ROK Alliance, which continues to be the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity for the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” it said.

While in Washington, Cho also met with Philip Gordon, assistant to the president and national security adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, discussing the bilateral alliance, trilateral cooperation with Japan, and Korean Peninsula issues. Cho shared with Gordon concerns over the “grave situations” exacerbated by the North’s troop deployment, agreeing to respond firmly with the international community by closely monitoring the development of Moscow-Pyongyang military cooperation.