South Korea officials said on Tuesday that the Kim Jong-un regime is preparing the sending of 6,000 more soldiers to support Russia in the war against Ukraine. The announcement was made by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the same day the North Korean leader arrived in Beijing to watch a military parade, where he should also meet with Vladimir Putin.
According to information passed to parliamentarians at a meeting at closed doors, about 1,000 North Koreans would have already landed in Russia.
“Pyongyang has sent about 15,000 staff to Russia today,” said NIS, according to the report of deputies of the Governor Democratic Party (PD) and the opposing Popular Power Party (PPP).
The number of foreseen military coincides with statements made in June by the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Serguei Shoigu, who had mentioned the arrival of five thousand construction soldiers and a thousand engineers to work in the Kursk region.
According to estimates from the South Korean Army, North Korea has already sent two major fighters: more than ten thousand in October 2024 and about three thousand between January and February 2025. The new mobilization would therefore be the third contingent.
Losses also increased significantly. In April, Seoul’s intelligence spoke in about 600 dead. NIS has now revised the numbers up, indicating that about two thousand North Koreans have already been killed on the front, among a total of 4,700 casualties.
According to the American station CNNAnonymous Ukrainian sources said North Korea plans to send between 25,000 and 30,000 additional soldiers to support Russia in the coming months.
