NIS confirms up to 3,000 North Korean troops newly deployed to Russia amid concern that more are on the way

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NIS confirms up to 3,000 North Korean troops newly deployed to Russia amid concern that more are on the way

Published: 27 Feb. 2025, 18:21

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Men presumed to be North Korean soldiers stand outside a building in an unknown location in this photo released by Russian media outlet Astra last October. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

North Korea deployed up to 3,000 more troops to Russia between January and February of this year, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Thursday.

This could mark North Korea's second large-scale deployment following its first in October last year. Experts speculate that if Moscow continues its “meat grinder” tactics of pouring large numbers of troops to retake parts of western Russia's Kursk region currently occupied by the Ukrainian military, Pyongyang may soon deploy a third wave of soldiers.

Following an exclusive report published Wednesday by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, the NIS confirmed Thursday that North Korean troops "were deployed again to the Kursk front starting in the first week of February.”

Citing sources familiar with North Korea, the JoongAng Ilbo reported Wednesday that "approximately 1,000 to 3,000 North Korean troops were newly deployed to the Kursk front on Russian cargo ships and military aircraft between January and February.”

“Mechanized infantry, engineering and electronic reconnaissance units that were absent from the first deployment last year were included this time,” one source said.

During that period, North Korea-related news outlets reported that aircraft and ships traveled between North Korea and Russia based on images by civilian commercial satellites and that intelligence agencies were monitoring the movements.

Earlier, Ukraine claimed that North Korean troops had disappeared from the front lines for about three weeks starting in mid-January before returning to the Kursk battlefield around Feb. 7.

This suggests that the Russian side reorganized its ranks by replenishing its troops and then deployed the second batch of North Korean soldiers into battle around this time.

North Korea deployed approximately 11,000 troops to the Kursk battlefield in its first dispatch last year, of which some 4,000 were killed or injured, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.

According to general military doctrine, a unit becomes combat ineffective when it loses 20 to 30 percent of its personnel.

Given this, North Korea appears to have deployed a second batch of troops because high casualties had rendered the first batch unable to fight.

Russia's military needs may have also grown since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration, when cease-fire negotiations accelerated.

In this photo released by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, an injured North Korean solider captured by the Ukrainian military is seen at a facility in an unknown location on Jan. 12. [SCREEN CATPURE]

Russia likely wishes to recapture as much of Kursk as possible before negotiations conclude, while North Korea may see the additional deployment as an opportunity to increase its “share” in the cease-fire and receive more compensation from Russia.

However, given the rushed nature of the second deployment, in which substantial numbers of troops were dispatched and reorganized in just three weeks, how effective the reinforcement will prove on the battlefield remains unknown.

During the first deployment in October last year, North Korea and Russia began preparations in early August, transported North Korean troops to the Russian Far East in October and conducted adaptation training there for several weeks.

They then deployed the North Korean troops to the Kursk battlefield in November. However, this time, they seem to have dropped fresh troops immediately into combat without even minimal preparation. This issue also directly relates to the North Korean army's ability to adapt to battlefield conditions and to perform joint operations with the Russian military.

On Feb. 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the Russian military had re-deployed North Korean troops to the Kursk front and that "hundreds of Russian and North Korean soldiers have died.”

Another source said, "The timing of the announcement was just a few days after the resumption of the deployment of North Korean troops."

Russia will likely continue using poorly prepared North Korean troops to soak up Ukrainian ammunition.

North Korea's recent addition of troops, including mechanized infantry and electronic reconnaissance units, appears to be in preparation for open-field maneuver warfare and drone warfare, which have resulted in significant casualties.

However, if Russia does not adequately provide North Korean personnel with the equipment or firepower necessary for modern warfare while using them as cannon fodder, mass casualties may be inevitable.

In this regard, discord between North Korean and Russian troops has emerged on and off the battlefield.

A video of the Russian military mocking the North Korean military has gone viral, especially in Ukraine, and reports have surfaced that the North Korean military is dissatisfied with insufficient Russian artillery support, resulting in higher casualties.

The problem is that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has focused solely on receiving “gifts from Russia” with little concern for his troops or their sacrifices. This indifference has heightened concern that a third deployment of troops may be imminent.

“North Korea is pouring its troops into a war of attrition it cannot influence to gain economic and military compensation,” said Oh Gyeong-seob, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. “It is only a matter of time before Kim Jong-un signs off on the decision to deploy a third dispatch of troops.”

BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO, LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]