Ukrainian officials said that North Korea is set to triple the number of its troops fighting for Russia along the front lines with Ukraine, sending an additional 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers to assist Moscow, reports CNN.
According to an intelligence assessment, the media claimed to have seen it, the troops may arrive in Russia in the coming months, adding to the 11,000 sent in November who helped repel Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
Around 4,000 of those North Korean soldiers were killed or injured in the deployment, according to Western officials, yet Pyongyang’s cooperation with Moscow has since bloomed.
A Western intelligence official confirmed the estimate, saying they had seen information separate to the Ukrainian assessment which suggested up to 30,000 new North Korean troops could be sent to Russia.
The Ukrainian assessment says the Russian ministry of defense is capable of providing “needed equipment, weapons and ammunition” with the aim of “further integration to Russian combat units.” The document adds “there is a great possibility” the North Korean troops will be engaged in combat in parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine “to strengthen the Russian contingent, including during the large-scale offensive operations.”
The assessment, from Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency, also says there are signs that Russian military aircraft are being refitted to carry personnel, reflecting the vast undertaking of moving tens of thousands of foreign troops across Russian Siberia, which shares a border with North Korea in its far southwest.
Possible preparations for the new deployment, including the arrival of a ship linked to last year’s deployments at a Russian port, and cargo aircraft at North Korea’s Sunan airport, have been spotted on satellite imagery obtained by CNN.
North Korea initially sent 11,000 troops to Russia in the fall of 2024 in great secrecy, with Russian President Vladimir Putin only confirming the deployment in late April.
In October, North Korean soldiers were pictured being handed equipment for the frontlines at the Sergeevka military base in Primorskyi Krai.
A month later, a Ropucha-class Russian ship docked at the Dunai port near Nakhodka, 95 kilometers (59 miles) to the southwest, which could carry up to 400 troops, analysts said.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
