North Korea Deploys Reinforcement Troops to Russia, South Korean Intelligence Reports

North Korea reportedly sent additional troops to Russia to aid its war against Ukraine, according to Korean media Yonhap News on February 27.

The exact number of newly deployed soldiers is still being assessed.

“After nearly a month of inactivity, North Korean troops were redeployed to the front-line area of Kursk in early February,” the Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a statement.

The report states, “Additional forces have been deployed, but their numbers are still under evaluation.”

This assessment follows South Korean media reports that between 1,000 and 3,000 North Korean troops were sent to Russia’s Kursk region between January and February, transported via Russian cargo ships and military aircraft.

After the report was published, South Korean military officials confirmed signs that North Korea plans to send more than 1,000 additional troops to Russia this year.

Last year, Pyongyang reportedly deployed around 11,000 soldiers to the Kursk front-line area.

The NIS previously estimated that North Korean troops stationed in Russia had not engaged in combat in the Kursk region since mid-January, likely due to heavy casualties. The agency estimated that around 300 North Korean soldiers had been killed, with approximately 2,700 more wounded.

On the other hand, 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.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un became a key ally of Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine, supplying both ammunition and soldiers.