N. Korea to send more troops to Russia, but deployment not imminent: Seoul

North Korea is preparing for a possible additional troop deployment to Russia, but no signs of an imminent deployment have been detected, South Korea’s military intelligence agency said Sunday.

In a report submitted to Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the People Power Party, the Defense Intelligence Agency under the Defense Ministry said preparations within the North Korean military for a potential additional deployment have continued.

“North Korea continues preparations for a troop deployment, but no signs have been detected so far that an additional deployment is imminent,” the agency said, adding that it is tracking related developments through intelligence cooperation with relevant countries.

The assessment marks the first time South Korean military authorities have publicly addressed reports of another North Korean troop deployment since Pyongyang began sending forces to Russia in October 2024.

Speculation over additional troops emerged last month after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said North Korea had decided to send more than 30,000 additional troops to Russia.

North Korea, however, denied the claim. Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, dismissed the reports in a statement Wednesday as a “fabrication” by Kyiv.

According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, North Korea is believed to have sent more than 16,000 troops to Russia since October 2024, with many of them believed to have been killed or wounded.

The agency also estimated that Pyongyang has supplied Russia with the equivalent of more than 15 million rounds of 152 mm artillery shells. The estimates for both the troop deployments and artillery supplies were the same as those released in March.

North Korea has also continued to provide Russia with weapons systems, including short-range ballistic missiles, since the start of the war, according to the agency.

The DIA assessed that North Korean missiles used in the war may have improved in areas such as accuracy, citing battlefield data accumulated during the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as possible Russian technical support.

Rep. Yu, a member of the Assembly’s National Defense Committee, warned that the battlefield experience and data North Korea has accumulated through the war could eventually translate into a greater military threat to South Korea.

“We should not take lightly the possibility that the combat experience and data North Korea has accumulated in the Russia-Ukraine war could return as a threat directed at the Korean Peninsula,” Yu said.

The DIA also assessed that most of North Korea’s short-range ballistic missiles targeting South Korea, including the Hwasong-11 series and 600 mm multiple rocket launchers, are nearing completion, with improved accuracy and penetration capabilities.

For longer-range missiles, the North has developed the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile capable of reaching Guam, while the Hwasong-16 hypersonic missile remains under development. North Korea’s ICBMs can reach the US mainland, but warhead reentry has yet to be verified, the DIA said.

The agency added that North Korea is also developing submarine-launched ballistic missiles, while its tactical nuclear attack submarine has yet to become operational and its nuclear-powered submarine is still years away from deployment.

flylikekite@heraldcorp.com