South Korea has called on United Nations officials to demand the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops from Russia, Yonhap reports. The UN officials were in Seoul attending the 23rd South Korea-UN disarmament conference on 4-5 November.
The discussions come amid strengthening ties between Russia and North Korea. Moscow has intensified military ties with Pyongyang since February 2022, securing ballistic missiles, and more than 2 million artillery rounds, with both countries signing a mutual defense pact in June. South Korea, Ukraine, and the US reported that around 10,000-12,000 North Korean troops deployed in Russia for training, with some transferred to the Kursk combat zone.
During meetings in Seoul on 5 November, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul urged UN officials to deliver “stern” messages regarding North Korean troop deployment and end what he termed “illegal” military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry.
In discussions with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, Cho emphasized that North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia “clearly violates UN Security Council resolutions and threatens the international community’s peace and stability,” Yonhap reports.
The minister also held talks with UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu, focusing on Moscow-Pyongyang military cooperation, global nuclear disarmament, and nuclear weapons nonproliferation. During these discussions, Cho characterized North Korea’s battlefield troop deployment as a “serious challenge” to international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation efforts.
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