South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has reported that North Korea has sent additional troops to support Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, with the newly deployed forces already stationed on the front lines in Russia’s Kursk region.
The exact number of fresh troops is still being evaluated, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
“Following a long lull of about a month, North Korean troops were placed back in the frontline region of Kursk starting in the first week of February,” NIS said.
Yonhap also cited South Korean military officials who have detected signs that North Korea has sent over 1,000 additional troops to Russia this year.
This assessment aligns with reports suggesting that between 1,000 and 3,000 North Korean troops were transported to Kursk via Russian cargo ships and military aircraft between January and February as part of a second wave of deployments.
Last year, around 11,000 North Korean troops were believed to have been stationed in the Kursk region. The NIS previously assessed that North Korean forces in Kursk were withdrawn from combat operations from mid-January, likely due to sustaining significant casualties.
According to the agency’s estimates, around 300 troops were killed, and roughly 2,700 injured.
Meanwhile, Ukrinform, a Ukrainian news website, has reported that satellite imagery of North Korea’s Rason Port indicates renewed activity, which may suggest the transfer of cargo—potentially including military supplies—to Russia.
