President Yoon Suk Yeol (Yonhap)

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a delegation from Ukraine led by the country's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Wednesday at his office in Seoul, according to Yoon's office.

Yoon was quoted by the presidential office as saying that he hoped South Korea and Ukraine could find a practical breakthrough to counter the security threat posed by military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Yoon's office did not disclose what Umerov said during his meeting with Yoon.

Following the meeting, Umerov also met with Yoon's National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik and South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

Umerov briefed the two officials on the front line situation in eastern Ukraine bordering Russia's Kursk region, where Seoul's intelligence authorities believe at least 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to fight against Ukrainian forces, according to Yoon's office.

In light of this, Seoul and Kyiv agreed to continue sharing information concerning North Korea's troop deployment to Russia, and exchanges of weapons and technologies between the two countries.

Moreover, Umerov noted that he was instructed by Zelenskyy to find room for cooperation to counter the increased development of military ties between Russia and North Korea.

The presidential office did not clarify whether the discussions during Umerov's visit included the possibility of South Korean weapons aid to Ukraine.

In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS televised in October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled that he would request South Korean-made nonlethal weapons such as surface-to-air missiles and artillery units.

An official of the presidential office said on Nov. 18, when Yoon was on a trip to South America, that South Korea should look into the growing need for Ukrainian forces to augment their anti-air defense capabilities, but did not comment prior to the arrival of the Ukrainian special envoy whether it had made any decisions.

After Yoon and Zelenskyy held talks over the phone on Oct. 29, Yoon's office announced that a special envoy from the war-torn country would travel to South Korea soon, without elaborating on the timeframe. Zelenskyy later stated on his X account that the two countries would "soon exchange delegations to coordinate actions."