News that troops from North Korea could be joining Russians on the battlefield in Ukraine has caused deep concern in Seoul

The video is grainy but the message is clear. The clip, posted by NK News, purports to show North Korean soldiers in green fatigues receiving basic supplies at a training base in Russia’s east, ahead of joining Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine.

News that Pyongyang has sent 3,000 troops to train to fight in the war has horrified Ukraine, the US and Europe. But it has special significance in Seoul – 7,300km from Kyiv – where North Korea is a both an enemy and a nextdoor neighbour.

What was once a European conflict is now an Asian one, too.

In return for weapons and troops, Pyongyang will secure much-needed cash and, possibly, Russian knowhow on intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarines – hardware upgrades that would dramatically intensify the threat the North already poses to its neighbours.

Events in Ukraine are being closely watched in Seoul.