(LEAD) Presidential office says to begin talks with Ukraine this week over Kyiv's special envoy to S. Korea

▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol talks over the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the presidential office in Seoul on Oct. 29, 2024, to discuss North Korea's troop deployment to Russia, in this photo provided by the office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ A file photo of the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul (Yonhap)

(LEAD) presidential office-NK troops-Ukraine

(LEAD) Presidential office says to begin talks with Ukraine this week over Kyiv's special envoy to S. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES with more comments, details in paras 5-10; ADDS photo)

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office said Wednesday that it will begin talks with Ukraine this week over a visit by Kyiv's special envoy to South Korea, as the two nations vowed to step up responses against North Korea's troop deployment to Russia.

A senior presidential official shared the intelligence assessment by South Korea and its allies that at least 11,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia, with some sent to Russia's western region near the border with Ukraine.

During a phone call with President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will send a special delegation to South Korea soon to coordinate actions in response to North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia.

"It will take a day or two for the Ukrainian side to designate a special envoy and finalize a plan to visit and hold discussions here," the official told reporters, on condition of anonymity.

South Korea is considering sending a team to monitor North Korean military activities in battlefields to assess potential security implications as Pyongyang could receive military technology from Russia in return for its troop deployment and learn modern warfare tactics, according to the official. Many believe the transfer may pose a "direct military threat" to South Korea.

When asked whether South Korea is considering providing 155-millimeter artillery shells to Ukraine, the official clarified that there has been no request from the Ukrainian side and that such a plan is not under consideration.

While providing arms to Ukraine is not currently being discussed, the official said weapons for defensive purposes will be considered first.

Last week, Yoon said South Korea could consider sending arms to Ukraine depending on the level of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The official said North Korean soldiers appear to be wearing Russian military uniforms and equipment, which may indicate their integration into Russia's military system.

In an effort to prevent social unrest, the Pyongyang regime has restricted mobile phone use among military officers and informed families of deployed soldiers that they are in training exercises, the official added.

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