France is concerned about reports of North Korean troops being sent to Ukraine to fight with Russia

France has said it is concerned about growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea after South Korea’s spy service said Pyongyang had sent troops to fight in Ukraine.

“An increase in mutual cooperation and military support from North Korea to the Russian war effort in Ukraine is very concerning,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine.

If confirmed by South Korean intelligence, the deployment of troops would bring a third country into the war and worsen the standoff between North Korea and the West.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) in Seoul said in a statement that Russian naval vessels moved 1,500 North Korean special forces to the Russian port city of Vladivostok from October 8 to 13.

It was said that it was expected that more North Korean troops would soon be sent to Russia.

The North Korean soldiers stationed in Russia received Russian military uniforms, weapons and fake identification documents, the NIS said.

They are currently stationed at military bases in Vladivostok and other Russian locations such as Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk and are expected to be deployed to battlefields after completing their adaptation training.

The NIS posted satellite photos and other photos on its website showing Russian Navy ship movements near a North Korean port and suspected North Korean mass gatherings in Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk over the past week.

South Korean media reported, citing the NIS, that North Korea had decided to send a total of 12,000 soldiers in four brigades to Russia. The NIS said it could not confirm the reports.

The NIS has a mixed record in tracking developments in North Korea, one of the world’s most secretive countries.

If confirmed, the move would be North Korea’s first major involvement in a foreign war.

North Korea has 1.2 million soldiers, one of the largest standing forces in the world, but has not participated in a major conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Asked about the NIS findings, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said: “At this point, our official position is that we cannot confirm reports that North Koreans are now actively involved as soldiers in the war effort, but that could change.”

Russia has previously denied using North Korean troops in the war, with presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the claims “another hoax” at a news conference last week.

North Korean state media has not commented on the matter.

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Deepening cooperation

North Korea and Russia, embroiled in separate confrontations with the West, have significantly intensified their cooperation in the past two years.

The United States, South Korea and their partners have accused the North of supplying artillery shells, missiles and other conventional weapons to Russia in return for economic and military aid to fuel its war against Ukraine.

In June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement providing for mutual military assistance in the event of an attack on either country.

Many experts question how much North Korea’s troop deployment would help Russia, citing North Korea’s outdated equipment and lack of combat experience.

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“Diplomatically speaking, Pyongyang would be sacrificing its relations with European countries for the foreseeable future. The quid pro quo in the form of Russian military technology provided to the Kim regime could be significant enough to threaten South Korea’s security,” said international studies professor Leif-Eric Easley at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.