North Korea sent an additional 3,000 troops to Russia this year and is still supplying missiles, artillery and ammunition to help Moscow fight Kiev, Seoul’s military has claimed.
“It is estimated that an additional 3,000 troops were sent between January and February as reinforcements,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday.
It claimed that, of the initial 11,000 North Korean soldiers sent to Russia, 4,000 are believed to have been killed or wounded. “In addition to manpower, North Korea continues to supply missiles, artillery equipment, and ammunition,” the report by the JCS said.
“So far, it is assessed that North Korea has provided a significant quantity of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), as well as about 220 units of 170mm self-propelled guns and 240mm multiple rocket launchers,” it said.
It warned that “these numbers could increase depending on the situation on the battlefield”.
Attack drones
Traditional allies Russia and North Korea have drawn closer since Moscow's 2022 attack on Ukraine, with Seoul claiming leader Kim Jong-un of sending thousands of troops and containers of weapons to help Moscow.
Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has officially confirmed the troop deployment, but the two countries signed a sweeping military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, when Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to North Korea.
North Korean state media reported on Thursday that Kim oversaw the test of new suicide and reconnaissance drones featuring artificial intelligence technology.
The new strategic reconnaissance drone is capable of “tracking and monitoring different strategic targets and enemy troops’ activities on the ground and the sea", the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The suicide drones also demonstrated the striking capability “to be used for various tactical attack missions”, according to KCNA.
Kim evaluated the improved performance of “the strategic reconnaissance drone... and the suicide attack drones with the introduction of new artificial intelligence”. He also agreed to a plan “for expanding the production capacity”, KCNA said.
