Paris, France (AFP) France last month summoned a North Korean diplomat to protest Pyongyang’s backing of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

France summoned the official on October 28, said Christophe Lemoine, spokesman for the French foreign ministry. “We made it quite clear that such support would not go unanswered,” he added.

He did not say what response might be forthcoming.

“We are following developments on the ground very closely,” Lemoine said. “We are fully committed to reacting firmly in coordination with our partners.

France and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations but Pyongyang maintains a representative office in the French capital.

North Korea has become one of the strongest backers of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year.

The West has long accused Pyongyang of supplying artillery shells and missiles to Moscow.

Based on intelligence reports, Western powers believe Pyongyang has deployed around 10,000 troops to Russia to fight against Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has complained that Kyiv’s Western allies have not adequately responded to the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine.