Indications that Pyongyang is ready to send more forces to support Russia

The South Korean military said yesterday that it had detected indications that North Korea was preparing to send more troops and weapons, including explosive drones, to Russia, to support its war on Ukraine.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said that North Korea has already provided 240 mm multiple rocket launchers and 170 mm howitzers, and is expected to be preparing to produce more explosive drones for shipment to Russia, after leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test this month. the past.

An official in the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “Bomb-laden drones are one of the things that (North Korean President) Kim Jong Un is focusing on,” adding that the North has expressed its intention to hand them over to Russia.

State media reported that such drones were widely used in the Ukraine war.

Seoul, Washington and Kiev say there are about 12,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff official said that the growing military relations between Pyongyang and Moscow may represent greater threats to Seoul, as North Korea modernizes its conventional forces, which are less efficient than South Korean forces, and gains combat experience.

He added that there is also a possibility that North Korea will test a medium-range hypersonic missile near the end of the year, before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

In addition, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that more than 1,100 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded in the Russian war on Ukraine.

Western countries report that thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia in recent weeks in support of the Russian army.

The Kremlin, every time it is asked about this issue, avoids delving into it, refraining from confirming this information.

On December 17, the commander of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Sirsky, said that the Russian army was launching “intense offensive operations in the Kursk region, making extensive use of North Korean army units,” adding that the latter “suffered heavy losses.”

At the beginning of last August, Ukraine launched an attack in the Russian Kursk region and took control of part of it.

North Korea declined to confirm the deployment of its soldiers, alongside the Russian army.

Moscow and Pyongyang have strengthened their military ties since the Russian war on Ukraine in February 2022.

The two countries concluded a joint defense treaty last June, which entered into force at the beginning of this month, and stipulates “immediate military assistance” in the event of “armed aggression” by another country against either of them.

. 12,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia, according to Seoul, Washington and Kiev.