South Korea's Yoon, Poland's Duda condemn N.Korea troop dispatch to Russia

By Jack Kim and Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday condemned North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia for its war against Ukraine as a global security threat, Yoon's office said.

The two leaders held a summit and agreed to push to finalise a new contract to export South Korean K2 tanks to Poland by the end of the year, Yoon told a joint news conference with Duda.

"We agreed that North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia is a direct violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and the U.N. Charter and is a provocation that goes beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe to threaten global security," Yoon said.

North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday after being briefed by the national intelligence agency, an estimate that is twice the previous figure.

Washington also said it had seen evidence of North Korea's dispatch of 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine and it would be "very serious" if the North Koreans are preparing to fight Ukraine with Russia.

The Kremlin has previously dismissed Seoul's claims about the North's troop deployment as "fake news" and a North Korean representative to the United Nations in New York called it "groundless rumours" at a meeting on Monday.

Yoon said South Korea and Poland are partners who share the universal values of liberty, human rights and the rule of law and Seoul wanted to deepen cooperation in a range of areas beyond defence.

South Korea will work with Poland to explore support for Ukraine to help it rebuild itself after the war with the lessons they have learned from experiencing war themselves, he said.

Yoon and Duda did not unveil new developments in ongoing talks for South Korea's exports of arms to Poland, which has become one of the largest buyers, but pledged to continue cooperation in the defence industry.

The South Korean and Polish governments will actively lend support to seal a deal before the end of the year for South Korea's Hyundai Rotem to supply K2 tanks to Poland, Yoon said.

Yoon said South Korea and Poland will establish a new forum for defence dialogue and cooperate closely on security matters that affect the two countries.

South Korea, which has emerged as a major arms exporter, signed an estimated $22 billion framework agreement in 2022 to export mechanised howitzers, tanks and fighter jets, as Poland ramps up military spending in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Hanwha Aerospace, South Korea's biggest defence firm, has signed a total of $9.2 billion deals with Poland to supply 364 howitzers and 290 missile defence systems since 2022.

Hyundai Rotem, which specializes in industrial and defence contracts, had reached in the 2022 agreement to deliver 1,000 K2 tanks, but has only so far signed a 4.5 trillion won ($3.26 billion) contract to export 180 tanks.

(Reporting by Jack Kim, Hyonhee Shin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Ed Davies)