President Yoon Suk Yeol and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday strongly condemned North Korea's troop deployment to Russia and vowed to actively share information on battlefields to coordinate countermeasures. Yoon and Zelenskyy held the phone talks as North Korea sent its troops to Russia's Kursk region near the border with Ukraine for a possible front-line deployment in what would be a major escalation in the ongoing war. "The two leaders condemned the illegal military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including arms transfers and troop deployments, in the strongest terms and agreed to pursue strategic consultations for a joint response," the presidential office said in a release. Yoon said South Korea will not overlook the deepening military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, and vowed to take "phased measures" in response to the growing security threats. "North Korea is taking unprecedented and dangerous steps by deploying special forces to Russia, beyond merely providing mili tary support," Yoon said, stressing the need for close communication and coordinated responses between South Korea and Ukraine. Yoon expressed concern over the possibility of Moscow transferring sensitive military technology to Pyongyang in return for the troop deployment and North Korean forces gaining combat experience from the Ukraine conflict, which could pose a significant security risk to South Korea. Zelenskyy said he and Yoon agreed to beef up contact at all levels to build up strategies and countermeasures to respond to the escalation from North Korea's involvement in the war in Ukraine. "We agreed to strengthen intelligence and expertise exchange, intensify contacts at all levels, especially the highest, in order to develop an action strategy and countermeasures to address this escalation, and to engage our mutual partners in cooperation," he said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. "As part of this agreement, Ukraine and the Republic of Korea will soon exchange delegations t o coordinate actions." Zelenskyy said he shared data about the deployment of 3,000 North Korean troops to Russian training facilities near the battlefield, with a forecast that the number will increase to around 12,000. Zelenskyy said he also thanked Yoon for South Korea's consistent support for his country, and the financial and humanitarian aid the country has provided and pledged. Source: Yonhap News Agency
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