The National Intelligence Service said more North Korean troops are expected to be sent to Russia soon.

South Korean intelligence has found that North Korea has dispatched 12,000 troops to support Russia’s war with Ukraine, Yonhap news agency said.

South Korean intelligence has found that North Korea has dispatched 12,000 troops including special operation forces to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, news reports said Friday, a development that could bring a third country into the war and intensify a standoff between North Korea and the West.

During a meeting in Pyongyang in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is attacked, in what was considered the two countries’ biggest defense deal since the end of the Cold War.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.Gavriil GRIGOROV / POOL / AFPNorth Korea is set to send thousands of troops to aid

South Korea's spy agency said Friday that North Korea has dispatched troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine, a development that could bring a third country into the war and intensify a standoff between North Korea and the West.

South Korean intelligence agency estimates the North could send around 12,000 soldiers in total.

South Korean intelligence found that North Korea had dispatched 12,000 troops to support Russia's war with Ukraine