South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has reported that North Korea has sent additional troops to Russia following significant battlefield casualties in Ukraine.
According to South Korean media, the NIS stated that Pyongyang redeployed forces to Russia’s Kursk region in early February after a month-long pause. However, the exact size of the new deployment is still under evaluation.
This follows previous assessments that North Korea had initially sent around 11,000 soldiers to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Defense analysts suggest that these troops, lacking combat experience and struggling with language barriers, have been highly vulnerable to Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes.
Ukrainian field commanders claim that Russian forces have used North Korean soldiers in high-risk frontline assaults, with reports that they were ordered to take their own lives rather than be captured.
In January, South Korean intelligence estimated that 300 North Korean troops had been killed and 2,700 injured in battle, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy placed the total casualties at 4,000.
The military cooperation between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin has intensified since their summits in 2023 and last June. In November, Kim ratified a mutual defense treaty with Russia, obligating both nations to provide military aid if either faces “aggression.”
Source : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/27/north-korea-has-sent-more-troops-to-russia-south-korea-intelligence-agency