Claims of North Korean military support for Russia's war in Ukraine 'very worrying', France says

France expressed concern Friday about growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, after South Korean intelligence said the North was deploying many troops to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

“An increase in North Korean cross-cooperation and military support for the Russian war effort in Ukraine is very worrying,” foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine told reporters.

Earlier Friday Seoul’s spy agency said North Korea has deployed its first contingent of 1,500 special forces soldiers to the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East, and will be sending many more in the near future.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said the alliance could not as yet confirm South Korea’s intelligence.

“If this information were to be confirmed, it would be an extremely worrying and serious development,” Lemoine said.

“We can only call on North Korea and Russia to comply with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” he added.

The transfer of North Korean troops to Russia and their possible deployment in eastern Ukraine shows Moscow wants to escalate its invasion, a senior Ukrainian presidency source told AFP on Friday.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that if North Korea has transported troops to Russia for Moscow’s war against Ukraine, as reported by South Korean intelligence, then it smacks of “desperation”.

“If it’s true, then to my mind it shows a level of desperation in relation to Russia,” Starmer told reporters in Berlin.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga demanded an “immediate and strong reaction” from Kyiv’s allies, saying North Korea was aiding Russia’s invasion with troops and arms.

“Russia seriously escalates its aggression by involving DPRK (North Korea) on a war party scale,” he wrote. “We require an immediate and strong reaction from the Euro-Atlantic community and the world.”

“North Korea is aiding Russian aggression against Ukraine with weapons and personnel,” he added.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)