South Korea believes the North has sent troops to Russia, the presidential office said in a statement on Friday.
Separately, Yonhap news agency reported that South Korea's spy agency believes the troops were meant to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
"The National Intelligence Service said it has learned that the North has recently decided to send four brigades of 12,000 soldiers, including special forces, to the war in Ukraine," Yonhap reported.
On Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held an unscheduled security meeting with key intelligence, military, and national security officials.
"The participants ... shared the view that the current situation where Russia and North Korea's closer ties have gone beyond the movement of military supplies to the actual dispatch of troops is a grave security threat not only to our country but to the international community," his office said.
