Ottawa: South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy has raised alarms over the evolving relationship between Russia and North Korea, describing it as “full-scale, escalating collusion.” The envoy emphasized the need for robust cooperation among countries to address the emerging threats posed by this alliance.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Cho Koo-rae, South Korea’s vice minister for strategy and intelligence and top nuclear envoy, expressed his concerns during a symposium in Canada. His remarks came after confirmations from South Korea and the United States that North Korea has dispatched troops to assist Russia in its ongoing conflict in Ukraine. On the same day, Washington reported that at least 3,000 North Korean troops arrived in eastern Russia earlier this month, with expectations of engaging in combat following training.
The U.S. assessment aligns with South Korean intelligence estimates, which suggest that approximately the same number of North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia, with plans to deploy
a total of 10,000 troops by December. Cho highlighted the gravity of the situation, urging the international community to treat the deployment seriously to safeguard global peace and security.
Cho’s visit to Ottawa was part of a public-private forum co-hosted by Canada, the U.S., and Japan. During the forum, he called for the creation of a strong cooperation network among like-minded nations to present a unified front against North Korean threats and its strategic maneuvers.
Cho further noted the growing connections between Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security, underscoring that the North Korean issue poses a challenge to the current international order. He stressed the importance of building irreversible bilateral and multilateral cooperation networks to enhance collective responses.