North Koreas Continued Military Support: New Troop Deployments to Russia on the Horizon

North Korea is considering sending more troops to Russia to aid in its conflict with Ukraine as soon as July, according to a South Korean lawmaker who referenced the nation’s intelligence agency on Thursday.

This development follows a statement made by Sergei Shoigu, head of the Russian Security Council, during his recent trip to Pyongyang, where he mentioned that North Korea would contribute military engineers and construction forces to help rebuild the Kursk region.

“North Korea continues to dispatch troops and supply arms to Russia, and we recognize that its support has been crucial to Moscow’s attempts to reclaim Kursk,” said lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun after a briefing by the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Lee elaborated that after sending 11,000 personnel in October of last year, Russia has announced a second wave of 4,000 troops along with an additional 6,000 construction soldiers to assist with the reconstruction of Kursk.

The NIS anticipates that this new deployment could occur as soon as July or August, citing prior events like Shoigu’s visit about a month before the last troop movement, and recent reports indicating that North Korea has started selecting personnel for this purpose.

Lee indicated that North Korea is believed to have supplied Russia with millions of artillery shells, as well as missiles and long-range rocket systems transported via ships and military aircraft since the onset of the Ukraine invasion.

Last year, Russia and North Korea established a military cooperation agreement that featured a mutual defense clause during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the nuclear-capable nation.

According to South Korean intelligence, approximately 600 North Korean soldiers have perished and thousands more have been injured while fighting for Russia.

In April, Pyongyang acknowledged for the first time that it had deployed troops to support Russia’s military efforts in Ukraine and confirmed that some of its soldiers had died in battle.

North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed plans for increased cooperation but did not elaborate on the specifics.