NK weekly-external news
Summary of external news of North Korea this week
SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news on North Korea this week.
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S. Korea voices 'grave concerns' over Russia's ratification of treaty with N. Korea
SEOUL -- South Korea expressed "grave concerns" Friday over Russia's ratification of a bilateral treaty with North Korea that includes a mutual defense clause.
Russia's State Duma, the lower house of the country's parliament, ratified the bill at a plenary session Thursday, following the submission of the bill by Russian President Putin earlier this month.
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S. Korea, U.S. defense chiefs to hold annual security talks amid N.K.'s troop dispatch to Russia
SEOUL -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States will hold their annual bilateral security meeting in Washington, D.C., next week to discuss North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia and joint deterrence against the North's threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.
Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, are set to hold the 56th Security Consultative Meeting on Wednesday (local time). The meeting will mark their first in-person talks since Kim took office last month.
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First unit of N. Korean troops deployed to front lines in western Russia: reports
SEOUL -- The first batch of North Korean troops sent to Russia to support its war in Ukraine has arrived in Russia's western border region near Ukraine, according to Ukrainian media Friday.
The North Korean military unit was spotted Wednesday (local time) in the "war zones" in Russia's Kursk region, where the Ukrainian forces are conducting operations since they launched an incursion in August, Ukrainska Pravda and other news outlets have reported, citing Ukrainian intelligence sources.
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(LEAD) U.N. voices opposition to 'further militarization' of Ukraine conflict amid concerns over N.K. troop dispatch
WASHINGTON -- The United Nations Secretariat expressed its opposition Thursday to the "further militarization" of the ongoing war in Ukraine amid growing concerns that North Korean troops could be deployed to support Russian forces in the armed conflict.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Secretary General Antonio Guterres, made the remarks as Seoul and Washington have confirmed that some 3,000 North Korean troops were sent to eastern Russia by ship earlier this month -- a development reaffirming deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
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Putin says Russia-N. Korea military cooperation is 'our business': reports
WASHINGTON -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday his country's military cooperation with North Korea is "our business," according to media reports, as he addressed a question about Pyongyang's troop dispatch to support Russia's war in Ukraine.
Putin made the remarks during a press availability on the margins of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Reuters, Bloomberg and other outlets reported, after Washington and Seoul confirmed the North sent around 3,000 troops to eastern Russia by ship earlier this month.
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(2nd LD) Yoon says S. Korea could consider sending arms to Ukraine depending on N.K.-Russia military ties
SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that South Korea could consider providing arms to Ukraine, depending on the extent of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, vowing not to "sit idle" in response to Pyongyang's troop dispatch to Russia.
Yoon made the remarks after a summit with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Seoul, during which both leaders strongly condemned North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia and agreed to strengthen joint responses to growing security threats.
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(5th LD) At least 3,000 N. Korean troops sent to eastern Russia this month: White House official
WASHINGTON -- North Korea sent at least 3,000 troops to eastern Russia earlier this month, a White House official confirmed Wednesday, raising a "highly concerning" probability that they could engage in combat to support Russia's war in Ukraine after finishing training.
National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby offered the United States' assessment that Pyongyang moved those troops to Russia by ship during a period from early- to mid-October, but stressed that Washington does not yet know what the troops' mission is.
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Russia issues warning as S. Korea mulls countermeasures over N.K. troop dispatch to Russia
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW -- Russia's foreign ministry warned Wednesday that South Korea could face "security consequences" if it gets involved in the war in Ukraine, as Seoul has vowed to take "phased" measures in response to growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Maria Zakharova, the ministry's spokesperson, issued the warning as Seoul announced its plan Tuesday to take the measures following its spy agency's confirmation that Pyongyang plans to dispatch around 10,000 soldiers to support Russia's war in Ukraine, including some 1,500 troops that it has already sent.
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(LEAD) S. Korea considering sending personnel to Ukraine to monitor N. Korean troops: source
SEOUL -- South Korea is considering sending a team of personnel to Ukraine to monitor North Korean troops being deployed to support Russia, a government source said Tuesday.
Last week, Seoul's spy agency said North Korea sent some 1,500 special forces to Russia this month to take part in the war in Ukraine. The North is expected to dispatch a total of 12,000 troops from an elite special forces unit, according to an intelligence source.
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(LEAD) S. Korea vows to take 'phased measures' in response to N. Korea-Russia military cooperation
SEOUL -- South Korea vowed Tuesday to take "phased measures" against North Korea and Russia over their deepening military cooperation, and urged North Korea to immediately withdraw its troops from Russia.
The presidential National Security Council (NSC) convened a meeting to assess the situation after the National Intelligence Service reported that North Korea has decided to send around 12,000 troops to assist Russia, with approximately 1,500 soldiers already deployed to Russia's Far East.
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(LEAD) Russia defends N. Korea ties, denies clarifying use of N. Korean soldiers in Ukraine
SEOUL -- Russia said Monday it will continue to strengthen ties with North Korea, while declining to confirm South Korea's intelligence report claiming North Korea had sent troops to support Russian forces in Ukraine.
On Friday, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported the North had decided to send around 12,000 troops to support Russia in the war in Ukraine, with roughly 1,500 soldiers already sent to the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok aboard Russian naval vessels.
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NATO chief shares concern over N.K.'s troop dispatch to Russia in phone talks with Yoon
BRUSSELS -- North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte said Monday he shared concerns with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol regarding North Korea's preparations for troop dispatch to Russia during their phone talks.
In a post on social media platform X, Rutte said he had a discussion with Yoon about the alliance's "close partnership with Seoul," focusing on defense industrial cooperation and the interconnected security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions.
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