North Korea bolsters Russian front: 10,000 troops in Kursk
North Korea is preparing to send additional soldiers and armaments, including kamikaze drones, to Russia, reports Yonhap, citing South Korean intelligence data. Experts estimate that approximately 10,000 soldiers sent by Kim Jong Un's regime are currently operating in the Kursk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assessed that so far, about 3,000 of them have been killed or wounded.
North Korea appears to be preparing to deploy additional troops and military equipment to Russia, possibly including suicide drones, in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine - reports Yonhap, citing intelligence data.
"A comprehensive assessment of multiple intelligence shows that North Korea is preparing to rotate or increase the deployment of troops (in Russia), while currently supplying 240 millimeter rocket launchers and 170 mm self-propelled artillery," reported the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
"There are also some signs of (the North) moving to manufacture and supply suicide drones, first unveiled during Kim Jong-un's on-site inspection in November," it was emphasized.
Last month, North Korean state media reported that Kim observed on-site tests of various types of kamikaze drones and called for the mass production of these weapons, which he believes are becoming increasingly significant in modern warfare due to their cost-effectiveness.
How many North Koreans have died on the front?
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in a Monday social media post that, according to the assessment of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, about 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in battles in the Kursk section.
The Korean People's Democratic Republic forces began engaging in combat operations alongside Russian forces near the Ukrainian border in November. Earlier, Putin personally met with the North Korean dictator, likely finalizing the details of the agreement at that time.
According to experts, more than 10,000 KPR soldiers have already been sent to eastern Russia, with most of them arriving in the Kursk region.
