ANKARA

NATO has sought a "detailed" briefing from South Korea about its claims that North Korea has sent soldiers to Russia.

The request for briefing came up during a phone call between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency.

Earlier, South Korea's first Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun summoned Russia’s Ambassador to Seoul Georgy Zinoviev and called for the “immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops" allegedly deployed in Russia.

Expressing concern over "reckless military" alignment between Pyongyang and Moscow, Yoon also sought to seek "practical countermeasures" in cooperation with NATO and its member states, his office said

Rutte emphasized that NATO was "prepared to actively cooperate" with Seoul, expressing "serious concerns" over South's claims of troop dispatch to Russia by Pyongyang.

He requested the South Korean government to "send a delegation to NATO for more detailed information sharing."

South Korea last week claimed that the North has sent 1,500 soldiers to Russia to support Moscow's war against Ukraine, with the National Intelligence Service of South Korea saying that Pyongyang is planning to send around 10,000 troops to Russia.

Pyongyang has yet to deny or confirm Seoul’s claim.

The US has also not confirmed claims made by its ally South Korea.