One thousand one hundred North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded in the war with Russia Ukraineand Pyongyang may be preparing for another deployment North Korean soldiers in the regionSouth Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Monday. The information follows a report from Seoul’s spy agency last week that said at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed since fighting began in December.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of soldiers to reinforce the Russian military, including to the border region of Kursk, where Ukrainian troops seized territory earlier this year.
“Based on various information and intelligence sources, we estimate that North Korean troops 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 support Russia’s war effort, the JCS said, adding that Pyongyang is reportedly “preparing for the rotation or additional deployment of soldiers.”
The JCS said intelligence also indicates that North Korea is “producing and supplying to Russia self-destructible drones” with nuclear weapons to further support Moscow in the fight against Ukraine, and that North Korea is “producing 240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled Artillery supplies for the Russian army.
Seoul’s military said North Korea is seeking to modernize its conventional warfare capabilities based on combat experiences in the Russia-Ukraine war.
“This could lead to an increase in the North’s military threat against us,” it said.
The latest findings are consistent with a South Korean intelligence report that informed lawmakers that “Russia may provide quid pro quo” for North Korea’s military contributions, including “the modernization of North Korea’s conventional weapons.”
North Korean and Russian military relations
North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A landmark defense pact between Pyongyang and Moscow signed in June came into force this month, and experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is keen to acquire advanced technology from Russia and combat experience for his troops.
Pyongyang on Thursday criticized what it called a “reckless provocation” by the United States and its allies over 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 the deployment of North Korean troops, but there was no mention of possible arms shipments from Seoul to Kiev.
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 to its longstanding policy of banning arms sales to countries 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 appearing to hold a goat in front of barbed wire fences.
Strengthening border security in the north has been underway “for eight months with up to 10,000 troops mobilized,” a military official told reporters.
The tightened security measures are aimed at “preventing the defection of North Korean civilians and soldiers to the South,” the JCS said in its report.
The North has also gotten around 7,000 garbage balloons Seoul’s military said there had been 32 airstrikes in the south since May.
Activist groups in South Korea have long sent propaganda north, typically with balloons, including leaflets, U.S. dollar bills and sometimes USB sticks containing K-pop or K-dramas, which are banned in the tightly controlled north.
Pyongyang rails against such activities and said the garbage balloon offensive was retaliation for activists’ propaganda efforts.
While Pyongyang has refrained from launching such balloons since November 29, “signs of its readiness for a surprise launch at multiple locations” have been observed, the military in Seoul said.
