S. Korean Delegation Briefs EU Officials on N. Korea’s Troop Deployment to Russia.

Brussels: A South Korean government delegation visited the European Union headquarters in Brussels to brief officials on North Korea's deployment of its troops to Russia, an EU official said. The delegation, consisting of high-level intelligence, defense, and foreign affairs officials from Seoul, is in the Belgian capital this week to share its assessments and information with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the EU regarding North Korea's troop dispatch for use in Russia's war against Ukraine. They had briefed NATO the previous day. According to Yonhap News Agency, Nabila Massrali, EU spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, mentioned in a press briefing that the Political Security Committee (PSC) is meeting with the South Korean delegation. While she declined to give further details on the meeting, she noted that the planned visit to South Korea by Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, "can be put in the context of what is happening." She added that EU member states ar e discussing the situation, emphasizing that the continued military support by the DPRK to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine will be met with an appropriate response. Following the briefing on Monday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that North Korean troops have been deployed to the Kursk region in western Russia, a front-line area in its conflict with Ukraine. Rutte stated that the deployment marks a "significant escalation" in Moscow's war against Kyiv and poses a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security. The South Korean foreign ministry announced that Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul will hold strategic talks with Borrell next Monday, where North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia is expected to be among the top agenda items.