A contingent of North Korean troops, including high-ranking generals, deployed to Russia may now be positioned on the front lines of the Ukraine war, South Korea’s spy agency reported Tuesday, adding that the Kim Jong-un regime appears to be clamping down on information about the troop dispatch internationally. "Troop movements between Russia and North Korea have been assessed as underway, with the agency examining the potential relocation of certain personnel, including high-ranking

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Monday that North Korean troops could be deployed by Russia to the front lines against Ukraine "sooner than expected," according to the presidential office. Yoon shared intelligence on North Korea's troop deployments to Russia and discussed potential response measures during a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, held at her request, the presidential office said in a statement. "The (South Korean) pres

South Korea is set to convene its first 2+2 foreign and defense ministerial meeting with the United States in more than three years, paired with inaugural 2+2 talks with Canada, at a critical juncture marked by concerns of possible North Korean troop deployment to the Ukraine-Russia combat zone. The high-stakes meetings will take place in a pivotal week of diplomacy and include top diplomats and defense leaders from founding NATO members -- staunch allies of Ukraine since Russia's invasion.

Growing indications suggest that North Korean troops are on the brink of deployment to support Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine, as North Korean soldiers have reportedly arrived in Russia's Kursk region, where Russian and Ukrainian forces have been battling for control of key strategic border location. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Russia is expected to deploy the first contingent of North Korean soldiers to combat zones as early as Sunday and Monday, based on an

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday suggested possible flexibility in the country's longstanding policy of withholding lethal weapons aid to Ukraine, framing it as part of a phased counterstrategy in response to North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia. Yoon's comment came after South Korea's presidential office confirmed Tuesday that, depending on how the battlefield situation in Ukraine unfolds, Seoul will first consider providing defensive weapons, with the option of late

North Korea's dispatch of personnel to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- even if their military involvement is limited or indirect -- could put Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang's debt, experts said. The development may also set the stage for reciprocal support from Moscow for Kim Jong-un's aggressive ambitions, especially if North Korean casualties occur in the Ukraine war. Whether North Korea has dispatched troops to Russia remains a hotly debated issue, w

Top diplomats of South Korea and the United Kingdom have agreed to launch foreign and defense ministerial "2+2" talks early next year in a bid to strengthen their joint response to regional and global security threats, while pledging further cooperation on co-developing defense capabilities, according to a joint statement released Tuesday. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met for the 9th Korea-UK Foreign Ministers' Strategi

South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev on Monday to issue a stern warning over North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine -- a move confirmed by Seoul's intelligence agency last week -- and to demand their immediate withdrawal. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul said that the summoning of Russia's top envoy was aimed at conveying the South Korean government’s "grave stance o

North Korea has dispatched special forces to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, with the first batch already having arrived in Russia and a second group of North Korean troops expected to follow soon, South Korea's intelligence agency claimed on Friday. The National Intelligence Service said it "confirmed that North Korea began its participation in the war by transporting special forces to Russia via Russian Navy transport ships from Oct. 8 to 13." However, the NIS provided no

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un doubled down on the legitimacy of using offensive forces against South Korea in the event of a contingency, drilling into front-line troops the notion of South Korea as both a "foreign" and "hostile" country. Kim on Thursday visited the headquarters of the Korean People's Army's 2nd Corps positioned on the front lines near the inter-Korean border, with Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea Pak Jong-chon

After a week of silence following its parliamentary session, North Korea on Thursday effectively claimed to have revised its constitution to declare South Korea a "hostile state" while reporting on the severance of inter-Korean routes. The Rodong Sinmun, the most widely circulated newspaper in North Korea, reported Thursday on its front page that the General Staff of the Korean People's Army on Tuesday implemented measures to sever roads and railways connecting the two Koreas alon

South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to coordinate their responses to North Korea's recent escalating provocative steps targeting South Korea, based on a shared assessment of the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Wednesday. Campbell said South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano "were able to conduct a deep and sustained review of the situation on the

South Korea, the United States, Japan and eight other countries on Wednesday unveiled a new mechanism to monitor North Korea’s flouting of sanctions and strengthen sanctions enforcement, filling the void left by the UN Panel of Experts, which was dissolved following Russia's veto of its renewal. South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, joined by ambassadors to South Korea from

The South Korean government on Tuesday expressed "deep regret" over the Russian Foreign Ministry’s defense of North Korea’s unilateral claims that South Korea had sent drones carrying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets into Pyongyang. "(The South Korean government) expressed deep regret over the Russian Foreign Ministry’s defense of North Korea’s unilateral claims, the facts of which remain unverified, while bringing up sovereignty violations and interfe

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday convened an unprecedented meeting resembling a national security council, where he outlined the course of "immediate military action" in response to what his regime alleges was a South Korean drone incursion over Pyongyang, state media reported Tuesday. The meeting came four days after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry's statement that accused South Korea of sending drones into Pyongyang’s airspace on three occasions -- Oct. 3, 9,

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has not yet mustered public support for his bid to redefine the two Koreas as separate, hostile states -- a sharp break from his predecessors’ vision of a unified peninsula under a single nation and state -- former North Korean diplomats said. Some warned that Kim may ramp up military threats against South Korea to push his agenda forward. Seven of 12 former North Korean diplomats who have publicly defected to South Korea gathered on Thursday for a rare foru

South Korea has secured a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, positioning itself for leadership in three key UN bodies in 2025: the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights Council and the Security Council. South Korea was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term during a vote at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, local time, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced Thursday in a statement. This term marks South Korea's sixth on the Human Rights Coun

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned Monday that Pyongyang would "not tolerate" any disruption to the Korean Peninsula's balance of power, which he claimed is upheld by North Korea's nuclear arsenal and threatened by the growing "nuclear alliance" between South Korea and the United States. However, Kim simultaneously asserted that North Korea had no intention of attacking the South, North Korea's state media reported Tuesday. The remarks came during his 60th-

China and North Korea marked their 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations Sunday with no publicly reported major events, in contrast to earlier pledges from both leaders to celebrate the milestone with displays of camaraderie in the designated "Year of Friendship." In their New Year messages, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to organize activities throughout the "Year of Friendship" and deepen cooperation across various sectors, inclu

A South Korean military aircraft evacuating Korean nationals and their families from Lebanon returned home Saturday, as Israel intensifies ground operations against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah inside Lebanon, the South Korean government said Saturday. A total of 96 South Korean nationals and one foreign family member who had been residing in Lebanon arrived at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at 12:50 p.m. local time aboard a South Korean Air Force KC-330 Cygnus transp