North Korea Deploys 3,000 More Troops to Russia as Casualties Mount

North Korea deployed an additional 3,000 troops to Russia in January and February, reinforcing Moscow’s forces in its war against Ukraine, South Korean media Yonhap reported, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on March 27.

The latest deployment brings the estimated total of North Korean personnel in Russia to around 11,000, with 4,000 already killed or wounded, according to Seoul’s military assessment.

JCS warned that North Korea’s growing military alignment with Russia could lead to Moscow providing Pyongyang with advanced weapons technology in return for troop reinforcements.

Beyond deploying troops, Pyongyang has been supplying Russia with a substantial volume of missiles, artillery, and ammunition, including:

• Short-range Kn-23 ballistic missiles

• 170mm self-propelled Koksan howitzers

• Around 220 units of 240mm multiple rocket launchers

North Korea’s weapons shipments could increase further depending on battlefield developments, the JCS warned.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that 4,000 North Korean soldiers, out of 12,000 deployed, have been killed in battles on the Kursk front.