A thousand, a hundred North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded in the war with Russia Ukraineand Pyongyang may be preparing to deploy more North Korean soldiers in the regionSouth Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Monday. The information follows a report by Seoul's spy agency last week, which said at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed since fighting began in December.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce the Russian military, including in the border region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year.
“With the help of various sources of information and intelligence, we estimate that the North Korean forces, which recently engaged the Ukrainian forces, have suffered about 1,100 casualties,” the JCS said in a statement.
“We are particularly interested in the possibility of an additional deployment” of North Korean soldiers to assist Russia's military effort, the JCS said, adding that Pyongyang is reportedly “preparing for a rotation or additional deployment of soldiers.”
The JCS said intelligence also indicated that nuclear-armed North Korea was “producing and supplying Russia with self-destructing drones” to further assist Moscow in its fight against Ukraine, and that North Korea was supplying “240 mm rocket launchers and 170 -mm self-propelled artillery installations”. “for the Russian army.
Seoul's military said North Korea is seeking to modernize its conventional combat capabilities based on combat experience from the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“This may lead to an increase in the military threat of the North in our direction,” the message reads.
The latest findings echo a report by South Korea's National Intelligence Service, which told lawmakers that “Russia may offer reciprocal benefits” for North Korea's military contributions, including “upgrading North Korea's conventional weapons.”
Military ties between North Korea and Russia
North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
A landmark defense treaty 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 for 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 Kyiv.
Ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said in November that Seoul “does not rule out the possibility of providing weapons” to Ukraine, a major shift from its long-standing 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 stretches 25 miles along the border with South Korea, testing the 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 a barbed wire fence.
The strengthening of the protection of the borders of the North was carried out “for eight months with the mobilization of up to 10,000 soldiers”, a military official told reporters.
The heightened security measures are aimed at “preventing North Korean civilians and soldiers from defecting to the South,” the JCS report said.
North also started around 7000 balloons with garbage to the south 32 times since May, Seoul's military said.
Activist groups in South Korea have long sent propaganda to the North, usually in balloons, including leaflets, dollar bills and sometimes USB sticks containing K-pop or K-dramas, which are banned in the tightly controlled North.
Pyongyang has criticized the activity and said the garbage balloon offensive was retaliation for the activists' propaganda efforts.
Although Pyongyang has refrained from launching such balloons since Nov. 29, there have been “signs of their readiness for a surprise launch in several locations,” Seoul's military said.