South Korea’s military reported on Friday that it suspects North Korea is preparing to send more troops to Russia to fight against Ukrainian forces despite experiencing losses and having some of its soldiers captured.
According to a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), “As four months have passed since the dispatch of troops for the Russia-Ukraine war, and with multiple casualties and captives reported, North Korea is suspected to be accelerating preparations for an additional troop deployment.”
The JCS analysis did not specify what other preparations Pyongyang might be planning.
North Korea is also preparing to launch a spy satellite and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), though there were no signs of immediate action, the JCS said.
This month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said two North Korean soldiers had been captured in Russia’s Kursk region, marking the first time Ukraine had taken North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the war last autumn.
Pyongyang has deployed about 11,000 soldiers to support Moscow’s forces in Russia’s western Kursk region, according to Ukrainian and Western assessments, which Ukraine seized in a surprise attack last year.
More than 3,000 have been killed or wounded, according to Kyiv.
Initially, both Moscow and Pyongyang dismissed reports regarding the deployment of North Korean troops. However, in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia. A North Korean official stated that any such deployment would be lawful.
This increasing cooperation follows Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June 2024, during which the leaders signed a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty” that includes a mutual defence pact.
Team BharatShakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
