South Korea’s Defense Ministry said North Korea is continuing preparations for an additional troop deployment to Russia.
South Korean lawmaker Rep. Yoo Yong-won of the main opposition People Power Party told Yonhap News Agency on Aug. 24 that the military had not detected signs that such a deployment was imminent.
Last week Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s claim that Pyongyang planned to send up to 50,000 more troops to Russia to fight in Ukraine.
In an Aug. 8 post on X, Zelenskyy said that North Koreans appear on the territory of the Russian Federation from “time to time” and “we see this, we know this.”
“At first, we were talking about hundreds, then thousands, and now a decision has been made for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed on the territory of Russia,” he said.
“They are studying this war. If we are talking about crises and escalation in another region—in the Pacific—which could pose a threat to other Asian countries, then North Korea will certainly gain experience in modern warfare under Russia.”
Kim Yo Jong, a top official in North Korea’s ruling party, said in a statement published by state media KCNA on Aug. 19 that Zelenskyy’s estimate was “groundless” and “a self-staged incident.”
In a report submitted to Yong-won, the South Korean Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said that North Korea had continued to supply Russia with weapons systems, including short-range ballistic missiles.
The DIA estimated that the North has deployed more than 16,000 troops to Russia since October 2024, with many of them believed to be killed or injured. Pyongyang is also believed to have provided more than 15 million rounds of artillery shells to Russia, according to the intelligence agency.
The ministry said North Korea’s Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile, capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam, was being prepared for operational deployment.
North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missiles have the flight capability to reach the U.S. mainland, the ministry said, but key technologies, including warhead re-entry, have not been verified because all test launches have been conducted on lofted trajectories.
Last week, North Korea launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, as the United States and South Korea conducted a shortened version of their annual military exercises.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the ballistic missiles were launched from North Korea’s capital region around 5 p.m. local time on Aug. 20. The missiles each flew about 186 miles toward North Korea’s eastern waters, according to South Korean officials.
North Korea’s launch of ballistic missiles came after President Donald Trump directed the Department of War to shorten joint military exercises with South Korea.
The exercise, which started on Aug. 17 and was originally scheduled to conclude on Aug. 27, ended on Aug. 21.
South Korea’s national security adviser claimed in 2024 that Russia supplied North Korea with anti-air missiles and air defense gear in exchange for troops aiding Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
In an interview with national broadcaster SBS, aired on Nov. 22 last year, South Korean national security adviser Shin Won-sik said Russia had given North Korea economic and military technology support.
“It is understood that North Korea has been provided with related equipment and anti-aircraft missiles to strengthen Pyongyang’s weak air defense system,” Shin said.
South Korean lawmakers, citing the country’s spy agency, said around the same time that about 10,900 North Korean troops had been deployed to Kursk as part of Russia’s airborne and marine units facing Ukrainian forces.
North Korea has also shipped additional arms for the war in Ukraine, including self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers, parliament intelligence committee member Lee Seong-kweun told reporters, citing the National Intelligence Service.
Reuters and Timothy Frudd contributed to this report.
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