President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, then Netherland's Prime Minister, at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Asia Pacific partners during the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023. AFP-Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol and the chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held phone talks, Monday, and agreed that North Korea's decision to send troops to support Russia in Ukraine escalates regional tensions and threatens global peace.

During the call, Yoon said Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its military ties with North Korea reaffirm the "inextricably linked" security connection between the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions. He emphasized that these developments undermine the rules-based international order and pose threats to peace on both the Korean Peninsula and the global stage.

"We will closely monitor and take relevant, step-by-step measures in accordance with the developing relationship between Russia and North Korea. We hope to seek countermeasures with NATO and NATO member countries," Yoon said.

Yoon expressed his hope for South Korea to join NATO's Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation System (BICES). He also announced plans to dispatch a delegation to share military intelligence on the growing cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

"I spoke with President Yoon about NATO's close partnership with Seoul, defense industrial cooperation, and the interconnected security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. North Korea sending troops to fight alongside Russia would mark a significant escalation," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, right, speaks to Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul, Monday, after summoning him regarding North Korea's deployment of troops to support Russia's fight against Ukraine. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Earlier in the day, South Korea called in Russia's top envoy in Seoul to lodge a protest after the National Intelligence Service confirmed that North Korea had decided to send around 12,000 special forces to support Russia, with approximately 1,500 of them already deployed to Russia's Far East.

First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun conveyed deep regret to Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev over North Korea's deployment of troops to support Russia in Ukraine. He emphasized that this military cooperation goes beyond simply the transfer of equipment and represents a serious threat to South Korea and global security. Kim further stated that such actions violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

"The government calls for the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops from Russia," Kim was quoted as saying by the foreign ministry.

Zinoviev, however, insisted that Russia-North Korea cooperation is within the framework of international law and is not directed against South Korea's interest.

Zinoviev told Kim that the cooperation with North Korea is "not directed against South Korea's security interests," the Russian Embassy in Seoul said in a Facebook post. The ambassador said South Korea has "opposing positions about the reasons behind the growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula."

The Kremlin said strengthening military ties with North Korea is a matter involving Russia's sovereignty.

Russia and North Korea have remained silent on the deployment of North Korean troops to aid Russia's prolonged war against Ukraine. The Ministry of Unification said it will closely observe the situation without making premature assumptions. The Ministry of National Defense said North Korea aiding Russian aggression against Ukraine is a violation of UN resolutions and is an illegal act that should be condemned by the international community.

South Korean political parties have intensified their denunciation of North Korea for its decision to send troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine and expressed their readiness to back a parliamentary resolution opposing the move, which threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula, according to party officials, Monday.

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), speaks during a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. On his left is PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho. Yonhap

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), said North Korea's decision to dispatch troops to Russia is due to poor judgment.

"It seems like North Korea is trying to gain some kind of benefit at the end of the war in Ukraine, but that is a shallow idea," Han said during a Supreme Council meeting, Monday.

Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the PPP, strongly condemned North Korea's military cooperation with Russia as it threatened world peace, and called on North Korea to immediately withdraw its troops from the Russia-Ukraine war.

"North Korea's senseless, irrational provocative acts suggest the nervous state of Kim Jong-un's dictatorial regime. Sending troops to Russia is only a ploy to divert the attention of North Korean residents who are growing tired of the reclusive regime's incompetence and corruption," Choo said.

The PPP floor leader also urged bipartisan support in drafting the parliamentary resolution. "We will push to adopt a parliamentary resolution condemning Pyongyang's recent provocations, including the troop deployment to Russia, explosion of inter-Korean roads and sending trash-carrying balloons to South Korea," Choo added.

Rep. Kim Byung-ju, supreme council member of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly, Thursday. Yonhap

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which is known for its support of conciliatory policies toward North Korea, echoed the sentiments of the PPP. However, it urged the government to adopt a cautious approach and opposed providing lethal weapons to Ukraine.

"We strongly condemn North Korea's dangerous acts that threaten world peace and call on the regime to immediately withdraw its troops from the Russia-Ukraine war," Rep. Kim Byung-ju, supreme council member of the DPK, said.

However, Kim said the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is largely responsible for the worsening security situation on the Korean Peninsula. "Yoon's divisive diplomacy is one of the factors that provided an excuse for the North Korea-Russia military ties," he said.

"We agreed on the need to adopt a parliamentary resolution aimed at condemning involvement of North Korean soldiers in the war in Ukraine and calling for an immediate end to the deployment," Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, chief spokesperson of the DPK, told reporters after the Supreme Council meeting.