The president's office said that the current number of North Korean troops dispatched to Russia is at least 11,000, and that more than 3,000 of them have already moved close to the western Russian war zone.
A senior presidential official told reporters today (30th) that the North Korean military is taking the form of a "disarmament dispatch" that has been incorporated into the Russian military system while using Russia's military uniforms and weapons systems.
The official said the North Korean military is currently conducting local adaptation drills in several places, and it is impossible to confirm the claim of "North Korean soldiers fighters" centered on local non-profit organizations.
Regarding cooperation between South Korea and Ukraine, he said, "We are talking about step-by-step countermeasures based on principles," and explained that he feels the need to prepare a team to analyze and monitor North Korea's activities soon and send them to the country.
He also said he thought Ukraine's discussion on sending a special envoy to South Korea would begin within this week.
The official explained that the decisive criterion for South Korea's "next step" will be the start of the battle in Ukraine involving the North Korean military, and that he is looking at the issue from the perspective of "defending security" that we need most.
At the same time, Ukraine said it had never asked for shell support from Korea, and the report that the South Korean military is considering providing 155mm shells directly was wrong.
He added that even if weapons support is discussed in the future, it is common sense to discuss defensive weapons support, not weapons of murder.
As for the possibility of North Korea's nuclear test in November, a presidential office official explained that the nuclear test is relatively short in preparation and can be carried out at any time.
However, although such a trend has been observed a few times recently, he said that it was cut off and stopped in the middle, and that there is no urgent matter currently underway.
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