North Korea may send additional troops to Russia to participate in the war against Ukraine in July or August, and Pyongyang continues to supply weapons to Russia, reports Reuters citing South Korean intelligence.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes that Russia may be preparing for a large-scale offensive against Ukraine in July or August and needs additional resources.
South Korean intelligence claims that after a recent visit to Pyongyang by a high-ranking security official of Vladimir Putin, a new recruitment of troops for dispatch to Russia has begun. In exchange for supplying artillery ammunition and missiles to Russia, Pyongyang is likely receiving technical consultations on satellite launches and missile guidance systems, according to South Korean intelligence.
After several months of silence, North Korea and Russia revealed information about the deployment of North Korean troops and their role in Moscow's offensive on Ukraine aimed at reclaiming the Kursk region.
Both countries stated that the cooperation is based on a treaty signed by their leaders last June, which includes a mutual defense pact.
The DPRK has already sent about 11,000 military personnel to Russia to participate in the war against Ukraine, marking their first involvement in a large-scale conflict since the Korean War in the fifties. According to South Korean intelligence estimates, about 4,000 of them have been killed or wounded.
As reported in March by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, at that time North Korea had sent a "significant amount" of short-range ballistic missiles, 170-millimeter self-propelled howitzers, and about 220 units of 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers to Russia.
Meanwhile, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated that the advancement of Russian troops in the border area of the Sumy region has been halted as of this week, and the line of contact has been stabilized. "As of the end of May-June, it can be stated that the wave of attempts at the enemy's 'summer offensive' from the territory of the Russian Federation this year is faltering just as last year's attempt at offensive actions against Kharkiv," he said.