One thousand, one hundred North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded in the Russian war with him Ukraineand Pyongyang may be preparing to use more North Korean troops to the areaSouth Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday. The information follows a report by Seoul's spy agency last week that said at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed since entering the fighting in December.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce Russia's military, including in the Kursk border region where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year.
“Through various information and intelligence sources, we assess that North Korean troops who have recently engaged in fighting with Ukrainian forces have suffered approximately 1,100 casualties,” the JCS said in a statement.
“We are particularly interested in the possibility of additional deployment” of North Korean troops to support Russia's war effort, the JCS said, adding that Pyongyang is reportedly “preparing for the deployment or deployment of more soldiers.”
The JCS said intelligence also indicated that nuclear-armed North Korea was “producing and supplying self-destruct drones” to Russia to further support Moscow in its fight against of Ukraine, and that North Korea was providing “240mm rocket launchers and 170mm automatic artillery. ” for the Russian army.
Seoul's military said North Korea aimed to upgrade its conventional warfare capabilities based on combat experience in the Russia-Ukraine war.
“This could lead to an increase in the North's military threat to us,” he said.
The latest findings coincide with a report by South Korea's National Intelligence Service, which informed lawmakers that “Russia may offer bilateral benefits” for North Korea's military contributions. including North Korea's “conventional weapons upgrade”.
Military ties between North Korea and Russia
North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
A special defense deal between Pyongyang and Moscow, signed in June, came into effect this month, and experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is keen to get advanced technology from Russia and battle know-how for the his soldiers.
Pyongyang on Thursday lashed out at what it called “irresponsible brawling” with the United States and its allies for a joint statement condemning North Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine, including the deployment soldiers
South Korea and Ukraine announced last month that they would deepen security cooperation in response to the “threat” posed by the use of North Korean troops, but there was no mention any potential arms shipments from Seoul to Kyiv.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said in November that Seoul was “not ruling out providing military capability” to Ukraine, which would mark a major change in its long-standing policy of sending a ban on arms sales to countries engaged in active conflict.
North Korea is building a new border fence
The North Korean military was also seen building a new fence that stretched 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 fences.
The security reinforcement of the Northern borders had been going on “for eight months with up to 10,000 troops deployed,” an army official told reporters.
The advanced security measures are aimed at “preventing defections by North Korean civilians and soldiers to the South,” the JCS said in its report.
The North is also floating around 7,000 balloons carrying rubbish into the South 32 hours since May, Seoul's military said.
Activist groups in South Korea have long sent propaganda to the North, usually carried by balloons, including leaflets, US dollar bills and sometimes USB drives containing K- pop or K-drama, which is banned in the tightly controlled North.
Pyongyang rails against such activity and has said that its garbage-carrying balloon attack is in retaliation for the militants' propaganda efforts.
While Pyongyang has stopped launching such balloons since November 29, there were “signals that they are ready for a surprise launch at several sites”, Seoul's military said.
