North Korea’s fresh troop deployment to Russia: What intel actually reveals

Defense Express reported the information. 

Several Ukrainian and Western outlets reported that Pyongyang had recently sent mechanized units to Russia. However, the source of this claim — South Korean intelligence — did not confirm such details.

According to The Korea Herald, Korean intelligence did report troop movements, but they happened in early February, not recently. The number and composition of the forces were not specified.

The idea that DPRK troops include mechanized units came from military expert Hong Min. He suggested that North Korea is likely to send specialized units, such as self-propelled artillery and electronic warfare teams, to gain combat experience.

Korea JoongAng Daily, citing its own sources, claimed that between 1,000 and 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been transferred to the Kursk region from January to February, including motorized rifle and engineering units.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, and his deputy, Vadym Skibitskyi, told The Chosun Daily that there was no solid evidence of new infantry deployments but confirmed an increase in North Korean artillery, missile, and support units.

As of February 17, about 1,000 DPRK soldiers were training with new equipment. In total, 12,000 North Koreans have been deployed, operating within Russian units rather than independently. So far, around 4,000 have been killed or seriously wounded.