South Korean Foreign Minister Contacts Ukraine, Ready To 'Detain' North Korean Soldiers Arrested

JAKARTA - South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul made a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha. The two discussed the handling of North Korean war prisoners.

Cho reiterated Seoul's efforts to support the Ukrainian people and said Seoul would accept North Korean soldiers arrested by Ukraine if they wanted to go to South Korea.

Previously, South Korea's intelligence agency (South Korea) estimated North Korea (North Korea) had sent additional troops to support Russia in the war with Ukraine.

"After a hiatus of about a month, North Korean troops were stationed back in the Kursk frontline region starting the first week of February," the National Intelligence Agency (NIS) said in a note to the press, reported The Korea Times on February 27.

"It seems that there has been an additional troop deployment, but the number is still being investigated," continued NIS.

The assessment follows news reports that some 1,000 to 3,000 North Korean troops had just been transported to Kursk via Russian cargo ships and military aircraft between January and February in the second round of the deployment of the troops.

Following the report, South Korean military officials said signs of North Korea sending more than 1,000 additional troops to Russia this year had been detected.

Previously, Pyongyang was believed to have deployed about 11,000 troops to Russia's frontline region in Kursk last year.