MOSCOW — Russia’s lower house of parliament ratified an overarching partnership treaty with North Korea on Thursday, as South Korea considers its response to North Korean troops in Russia.

The partnership treaty takes military cooperation between the two countries to a new level and stipulates that they will provide mutual assistance should either country be attacked.

The ratification was the final stage for the agreement signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang in June.

“The treaty takes full account of the current geopolitical situation,” said the head of the Duma’s foreign affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky.

He said it formed “the basis for the expansion of cooperation in all areas of interaction and the foundation for a comprehensive strategic partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang.”

A spokeswoman from the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said the military cooperation did not violate any laws.

The ratification took place against the backdrop of reports from South Korea and Ukraine that thousands of North Korean soldiers were being sent to Russia ahead of deployment to Ukraine.

South Korea’s intelligence service told members of parliament on Wednesday that North Korea had already sent about 3,000 soldiers to Russia. Seoul has condemned the deployment as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and the U.N. Charter.

U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin on Wednesday confirmed that the United States has “evidence” that North Korean troops are in Russia but that it is not yet clear what they are doing.

The U.S. considers the alliance between the two countries to be dangerous and has repeatedly accused Pyongyang of supplying Russia with ammunition and weapons for use in its war against Ukraine.

Speaking in the Russian city of Kazan, Putin dismissed the criticism, noting the ratification of the strategic partnership agreement with North Korea.

The agreement included a clause on mutual military assistance. “We have never doubted that the North Korean leadership takes our agreements seriously. What we do and how we will do it under this article is our business,” Putin said.

Putin also said the West had long been doing more than just supplying Kyiv with weapons and satellite information and that Western states were also deploying trainers and officers in Ukraine to support the country’s armed forces.

Speaking at a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called the deployment “a provocation that extends beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe and threatens global security.”

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun meanwhile labeled North Korean soldiers stationed in Russia as “cannon fodder mercenaries,” according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

“When troops are dispatched overseas, they usually maintain their country’s chain of command and proudly conduct activities with their military uniform, insignia and flag,” Yonhap quoted the South Korean defense minister as saying during a parliamentary hearing before South Korean lawmakers.

But the North Korean troops are using a Russian uniform as a disguise and are acting under Russian military command without any operational authority, Kim said.

Seoul has not ruled out arms deliveries to Ukraine.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae Yul said that the government cannot remain passive in response to North Korea apparently sending troops to Russia to aid the fight against Ukraine.

“I don’t think that we are in a position where we can just stand idly by when, in the end, it will become a threat to our security,” said Cho during the hearing on Thursday, according to Yonhap.

In response to a question from a member of parliament about whether the South Korean government would consider direct arms deliveries to Ukraine, Cho replied that “all options are on the table.”

Seoul has so far not supplied any heavy weapons to Ukraine, arguing it could escalate the war.

There is great concern in Seoul that North Korea could emerge militarily stronger from its cooperation with Russia.

Cho added later that North Korea’s deployment “would not have come without something promised in return” by Moscow.

From Brussels, the European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said he was “deeply alarmed” by the reports.

“It would be a unilateral hostile act by the DPRK (North Korea) with serious consequences for European and global peace and security,” Borell said in an official statement.

“This development also illustrates once again how Russia is spreading instability and escalation in the region and across the globe,” he added.

Russia was escalating the Ukraine conflict and had no interest in a negotiated peace, Borrell said.

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