North Korea is preparing to send more troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, even after incurring significant losses, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) warned on Jan. 24, according to the Yonhap news agency.
North Korean troops were deployed to Kursk Oblast last fall to support Russian forces in countering a Ukrainian incursion launched in early August 2024. Ukrainian forces have continued fighting in the region, hoping to leverage their positions for potential negotiations.
"With around four months having passed since the deployment of troops to the war between Russia and Ukraine, (North Korea) is assumed to be accelerating preparations for additional measures and deployment amid multiple casualties and occurrence of prisoners," the statement read, according to Yonhap.
Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said previously that Pyongyang is reportedly preparing reinforcements, mainly gun and rocket artillery units, to participate in the war in Ukraine.
The New York Times reported that according to an undisclosed U.S. official, fresh North Korean troops could arrive within two months.
North Korea is also expected to send Russia 150 short-range KN-23 ballistic missiles in 2025, according to Budanov.
Experts interviewed by the Kyiv Independent connected North Korea’s high casualty rates to a lack of experience with modern warfare, the "human wave" tactics employed against entrenched Ukrainian positions, and the resolve of North Korean troops to avoid capture, even at the cost of their own lives.
Only two North Korean soldiers are in Ukrainian captivity since Pyongyang deployed its troops in Kursk Oblast last fall.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
