One thousand one hundred North Korean soldiers were killed or injured in Russia’s war against Ukraineand Pyongyang may be preparing to deploy more North Korean soldiers in the regionthe South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Monday. The information follows a report last week by Seoul’s intelligence agency that said at least 100 North Korean troops had been killed since they entered combat in December.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce the Russian army, notably in the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year.
“Through various information and intelligence sources, we estimate that North Korean troops who recently engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces suffered approximately 1,100 casualties,” the JCS said in a statement.
“We are particularly interested in the possibility of additional deployments” of North Korean soldiers to help Russia’s war effort, the JCS said, adding that Pyongyang would prepare “for the rotation or additional deployment of soldiers.”
The JCS said intelligence also suggests that nuclear-armed North Korea was “producing and supplying self-destructive drones” to Russia to further aid Moscow in its fight against Ukraine, and that South Korea Nord supplied “240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled artillery.” ” for the Russian army.
South Korea’s military said North Korea was seeking to modernize its conventional warfare capabilities based on combat experience gained in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
“This could lead to an increase in the North’s military threat against us,” he added.
The latest findings are consistent with a report from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, which informed lawmakers that “Russia could offer reciprocal benefits” to North Korea’s military contributions, including “conventional weapons modernization of North Korea.
North Korean and Russian military ties
North Korea and Russia have strengthened military ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A historic defense deal between Pyongyang and Moscow, signed in June, took effect this month, and experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is keen to acquire Russia’s cutting-edge technology and combat experience. for his troops.
Pyongyang on Thursday blasted what it called a “reckless provocation” by the United States and its allies following a joint statement criticizing North Korea’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, including the deployment of troops.
South Korea and Ukraine announced last month that they would deepen security cooperation in response to the “threat” posed by North Korean troop deployments, but no mention was made of possible arms shipments from Seoul to kyiv.
Suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said in November that Seoul “does not rule out the possibility of supplying weapons” to Ukraine, which would mark a significant change in its long-standing policy banning the sale of weapons. arms to countries in active conflict.
North Korea builds new border fence
The North Korean military was also seen building a new fence stretching 25 miles along the border with the South, testing electric barbed wire fences with what appeared to be goats.
A photo shared by the JCS shows a North Korean soldier holding what appears to be a goat in front of barbed wire.
The strengthening of security on the northern border has been underway “for eight months, with up to 10,000 troops mobilized,” a military official told reporters.
The heightened security measures are aimed at “preventing defections of North Korean civilians and soldiers to the South,” the JCS said in its report.
The North also launched approximately 7,000 waste balloons to the South 32 times since May, the South Korean military said.
Militant groups in South Korea have long sent propaganda to the north, usually carried by balloons, including leaflets, U.S. dollar bills and sometimes USB drives containing K-pop or K-dramas, which are banned in the tightly controlled North.
Pyongyang rails against such activities and has said its trash-carrying balloon offensive was in retaliation for the militants’ propaganda efforts.
Although Pyongyang has refrained from launching such balloons since November 29, “indications that they were prepared to carry out a surprise launch at several sites” were observed, the South Korean military said.
