By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2025-03-27 21:15:07 | Updated at 2025-03-30 22:38:58
3 days ago
North Korea has sent at least 3,000 more soldiers to fight in Ukraine and replace the hundreds already killed, South Korea’s military reported Thursday.
The reinforcements were shipped off to Russia in January and February to bolster North Korea’s estimated 11,000 soldiers already in Russia, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The troops are meant to replace the some 4,000 Pyongyang soldiers who have been killed or injured in combat, with North Korea also delivering various weapons to the Kremlin, Seoul said.
“To date, it is estimated that North Korea has supplied a substantial quantity of [ballistic missiles], 170mm self-propelled guns, and about 220 240mm multiple rocket launchers,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in its assessment.
The confirmation of fresh troops and weapons in Russia comes as Moscow prepares to host North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un, according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim had reaffirmed their nations’ military alliance last year, with Pyongyang sending thousands of troops to help the Kremlin retake the Kursk region after suffering a humiliation counter-invasion by Ukraine in August.
While reports emerged of North Korean troops dying en masse on the battlefield over communication failures and lack of preparedness to fight a 21st century war, Russia was still able to take back nearly all of Kursk earlier this month.
About 400 North Korean soldiers were believed to have been killed as of Feb. 26, with another 3,600 injured, according to South Korean intelligence.
Putin’s top security adviser, Sergei Shoigu, touted Kim’s contribution to the Russian invasion during a meeting in Pyongyang last week, with the two nations continuing to build on their partnership.
The close relations have triggered fears in the West that Russia may be sharing advance space and nuclear technology with North Korea.
Seoul warned Thursday that North Korea has been benefiting from the partnership with Moscow, with Pyongyang recently unveiling a new reconnaissance drone that appears to have partially come from Russia, CNN reported.
The aircraft appeared to be modeled from a North Korean plane, but the “internal equipment and such parts could be related to Russia,” Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Seong-jun said.
With Post wires
