North Korean soldiers are likely fighting in Ukraine alongside Russian troops, with some believed to have already been killed and others expected to be deployed, Seoul's defense chief said.
This weekend, Ukrainian media reported that six North Korean soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on Russian-occupied territory near Donetsk on October 3.
Seoul's defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, told lawmakers that it was "very likely, considering the various circumstances," that the report was correct.
"We assess that it is very likely that there will be casualties among North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine, given the different circumstances," he said.
North Korea is expected to send more regular soldiers to support Russia's war effort, he added.
"The issue of deploying regular troops is very likely due to mutual agreements that resemble a military alliance between Russia and North Korea," Kim said.
Experts have long claimed that North Korean missiles have been deployed to Ukraine by Russian forces - something both Moscow and Pyongyang deny.
South Korea also claims that Pyongyang has sent thousands of containers of weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.
The nuclear-armed North has publicly stepped up its military ties with Moscow in recent years.
In June, President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to Pyongyang, where he signed a mutual defense agreement with leader Kim Jong Un.
Analysts have warned that the North's recent increased testing and production of artillery and cruise missiles could be preparation for supplies to Russia.
UN sanctions prohibit North Korea from conducting any tests using ballistic missile technology.
But in March, Moscow used its veto power in the UN Security Council to effectively end UN monitoring of the violations, for which Pyongyang explicitly thanked Russia.
North Korea is expected to abandon a landmark inter-Korean agreement signed in 1991 at a parliamentary session this week as part of Kim's bid to formally designate the South, a security ally of Washington, as an enemy state.
Moscow and Pyongyang have been allies since North Korea's founding after World War II and have grown even closer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 | BGNES
