North Korea sends troops to fight with Russia in Ukraine, says South Korea

Up to as many as 12,000 troops could join forces with Russia

The accusation comes just days after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed 10,000 North Korean soldiers could join the war, based on intelligence information.

According to the spy agency, 1,500 troops have already arrived in Russia as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for the international community to respond with ‘all available means’.

Anonymous sources have estimated that up to as many as 12,000 troops could be brought into the conflict.

This latest news comes as evidence mounts that North Korea has been supplying Russia with ammunition.

Recently, a missile was recovered in Ukraine’s Poltava region which backed up these claims.

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin on his birthday, calling him his ‘closest comrade’ as the cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang deepens.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for a security meeting on Friday which was attended by key officials from South Korea's National Security Office, the Ministry of National Defence, and the National Intelligence Service.

Yoon’s office said: “[The participants] decided not to ignore the situation and to jointly respond to it with the international community using all available means.”

On Thursday, Ukraine's spy chief Kyrylo Budanov claimed that there were nearly 11,000 North Korean infantry troops training in eastern Russia to fight in Ukraine.

Lt Gen Budanov, who heads the Ukrainian Defence Intelligence Directorate told The Warzone website: “They will be ready [to fight in Ukraine] on 1 November.”

Earlier this week, Putin introduced a bill to ratify a military pact he made with Kim, pledging that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of ‘aggression’ against either country.

North Korean troops are training in Russian bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, and Vlagoveshensk according to South Korea’s spy agency.

Seoul's spy agency also released aerial photographs of Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk, where they say hundreds of North Korean troops have gathered, and another photo of North Korea's Chongjin port, where a Russian ship was reportedly shown carrying North Korean soldiers.

Some military experts believe the Russian military units will have difficulties integrating North Korean troops into their frontlines.

As well as the language barrier, the North Korean army has no recent experience of combat operations.

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

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