The announcement came amid fears that Pyongyang may be receiving crucial military technology from Russia in return for sending troops and weapons for its war against Ukraine.

After refraining from taking a stance for the past week, the Democratic Party of Korea said Tuesday it agrees that North Korean soldiers captured as prisoners of war in Ukraine should be accepted as defectors under the laws protecting displaced North Koreans.

North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, South Korea’s military said, hours after South Korean and U.S. troops kicked off their large annual combined drills, which the North views as an invasion rehearsal.