Anchor: Seoul is beefing up its collaboration with European authorities amid growing concerns over the presence of North Korean troops in Russia to support the war against Ukraine. President Yoon Suk Yeol has held telephone talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss the matter. 
Kim Bum-soo has the latest.
Report:      
 
[Sound bite: Secretary General Mark Rutte]
"This morning, a delegation from the Republic of Korea, a close NATO partner, briefed the North Atlantic Council... "
 
A high-level delegation of top South Korean intelligence and military officials briefed the ambassadors of NATO member countries about the recent deployment of North Korean troops to Russia.
 
Following the meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters the North’s move represents “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war.”
 
[Sound bite: Secretary General Mark Rutte]
“In exchange, [President] Putin is providing North Korea with military technology and other support to circumvent international sanctions. This underlines the importance of democracies standing together to uphold our values and to face our shared security challenges, but the deployment of North Korean troops to Kursk is also a sign of Putin’s growing desperation.”
 
According to Seoul’s top office, President Yoon Suk Yeol also held telephone talks with the NATO chief Monday night and said he plans to send a delegation to Ukraine to share military intelligence on the matter.
 
The U.S. Department of Defense said North Korea has sent around ten-thousand troops to Russia and some of them have already moved closer to Ukraine. 
 
During telephone talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, Yoon said the actual dispatching of North Korean soldiers to the front lines could happen “sooner than expected.”
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.