North Korea may increase western Russia deployment to 50,000 troops
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
North Korea’s deployment will be increased to 50,000 troops by the end of November to help Russia seize Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
PHOTO: EPA
- Russia and North Korea plan to increase North Korean troop deployment in western Russia to 50,000 by November to support Russia’s offensive in Ukraine's Donbas region.
- Over 10,000 North Korean troops are already fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions, with additional missile troops in Voronezh.
- North Korea has supplied Russia with 40 ballistic missiles, possibly used in attacks in July and August, as part of their 2024 strategic partnership pact for mutual support.
AI generated
KYIV – Russia and North Korea are considering a plan to deploy additional North Korean troops to three western Russian regions bordering Ukraine, freeing up Russian units for the front lines, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said on Aug 12.
North Korea’s deployment will be increased to 50,000 troops by the end of November to help Russia seize Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, comprising Luhansk and Donetsk, by the end of 2026, according to a provisional Russian military plan that was obtained by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
Ukraine believes more than 42,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in July and Moscow is seeking reinforcements from North Korea to continue the war.
Russia and North Korea signed a strategic partnership pact in 2024 that stipulates mutual support in times of emergencies.
More than 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to western Russia so far and have engaged in battle with Ukrainian forces.
While most were deployed in Kursk, the provisional plan envisions North Korean units taking on most duties in Bryansk and Belgorod as well.
Russia and North Korea are expected to give final approval for the plan at the level of their leaders, a Ukrainian intelligence official said.
The agency estimates that around 9,500 North Korean ground troops are currently in Russia.
Separately, North Korea has recently begun deploying about 90 missile troops to Russia’s southern Voronezh region.
Pyongyang has also provided Russia with an additional 40 ballistic missiles, which may have been used in late July near Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, as well as in early August in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia. KYODO NEWS
