President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday during a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that North Korea's troop deployment to the Ukraine war front could occur in the near future, reiterating what he told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen two days earlier.
According to Yoon's office, the president called for unity and solidarity between South Korea and Canada, as he explained to Trudeau that the movement of North Korean soldiers to the Ukraine front lines "could be at a swifter pace than anticipated."
Yoon also suggested that a South Korean delegation would attend the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine's 10-Point Peace Formula that Canada is set to host on Wednesday and Thursday.
This came as South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency on Wednesday signaled that there is the "likelihood" that North Korean armed forces might have arrived at the front line of the Ukraine war, just over a week after the media revelation of North Korean soldiers' presence in eastern Russia.
Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party, who attended the National Assembly's parliamentary audit of the nation's military intelligence authorities Wednesday, told reporters that the DIA reported to him that North Korean vanguards and some weapons "may be present" at the war front, but this does not indicate North Korea's intervention in the war.
CNN reported Tuesday that a small number of North Korean troops are already inside Ukraine, citing unnamed intelligence officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shared a Ukrainian intelligence assessment that the North Korean troops would start to enter combat zones on Sunday.
Yoon's conversation with the Canadian leader came a day after he spoke to Zelenskyy in a phone call on Tuesday. According to Yoon's office, the two leaders agreed to exchange delegations to each other's country, step up intelligence exchanges and strengthen communication regarding North Korea's involvement in the Ukraine war.
Yoon told Zelenskyy that North Korean armed forces gaining experience in modern warfare in Ukraine would pose a serious security threat, as it would be the first time North Korean troops have engaged in combat since the outbreak of the Korean War from 1950-53.
Meanwhile, during his talks with Trudeau, Yoon expressed hope that the upcoming inaugural foreign and defense ministers' meeting between South Korea and Canada could "institutionalize high-level talks over security issues" and "deepen mutually beneficial defense industry cooperation."
On Friday, South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun are set to meet with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly and Minister of National Defense Bill Blair.
