North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine and is planning to send thousands more, South Korea has said.
Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the claims – but South Korean intelligence officials said North Korea plans to send Russia 10,000 troops by December.
The US said on Wednesday there is “evidence” of North Korean soldiers being deployed to Russia.
It comes a day after the UK government said it was “highly likely” soldiers from North Korea were “supporting Russia’s war of aggression” – and follows similar claims by Ukraine.
The latest numbers came after Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said on Friday its northern neighbour had sent around 1,500 special forces to Russia by ship.
Park Sun-won, a member of a South Korean parliamentary intelligence committee, said: “Signs of troops being trained inside North Korea were detected in September and October.
“It appears that the troops have now been dispersed to multiple training facilities in Russia and are adapting to the local environment.”
In a further development, Germany said it had summoned North Korea’s top diplomat in Berlin over the claims.
“Should reports be true on North Korean soldiers in Ukraine and should North Korea now be supporting the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine with troops, this would be serious and in violation of international law,” the German foreign office said in a post on social media.
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US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “There is evidence that there are DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic Of Korea) troops in Russia.
“What exactly they are doing? Left to be seen. These are things that we need to sort out.”
NATO said its allies were discussing the “troop deployment” and is set to receive a briefing from South Korea to “further discuss this matter”.
Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah added: “Allies have confirmed evidence of a DPRK troop deployment to Russia.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously cited intelligence about two units made up of 12,000 North Korean troops being prepared to join Russian forces.
On Monday, an American diplomat said Washington was consulting with allies on the implications of North Korean involvement, adding such a development would be “dangerous and highly concerning” if true.
In June, Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un held talks, vowing to help each other in the event of being attacked.
The mutual defence clause was part of a comprehensive strategic partnership the pair signed in a bid to unite against the US.