South Korea’s National Intelligence Services say it is assessing the scale of Pyongyang’s deployment into the war in Ukraine.
South Korea’s intelligence agency has evaluated North Korea sending more soldiers to Russia after being seriously injured on the frontlines of the Ukrainian war, local media reports.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a statement to South Korean media that Pyongyang relocated its troops to the front in Russia’s Kursk region in early February following a month’s lull.
“It appears that there has been an additional force deployment, but the scale of it is still being investigated,” NIS was quoted as saying by the South Korean state-funded Yonhap News Agency.
Seoul’s intelligence report assessment follows an analysis that last year Pyongyang sent around 11,000 soldiers to Russia in its first deployment to support the Moscow invasion.
Defense analysts suggest that North Korean forces are likely to become easy targets for Ukrainian drone and artillery attacks due to their lack of combat experience and inability to communicate with Russian bosses.
The Ukrainian commander on the field also reported that Russian forces used North Korean forces to lead the attack and ordered them to take their own life rather than being captured.
In January, the NIS estimated that 300 North Korean soldiers were killed and 2,700 were injured in the battle.
Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky estimated the number of North Koreans killed or injured in 4,000 people.
North Korean leader Kim Jong and Russian President Vladimir Putin have strengthened military cooperation since holding a rare successive peak in 2023 and June last year.
In November, Kim formally ratified the mutual defense treaty with Russia. This requires both countries to provide immediate military aid using “all means” necessary in the event of a “attack.”
Source link
