North Korea has deployed more troops to Russia: Seoul / Photo: © KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
-
Kayla Harrison Defeats Amanda Nunes via Submission at UFC 334
-
California GOP Faces Near-Extinction After 2026 Midterms; Calls for New Vision
-
GTA 6 Advertising Strategy and Disc Version Controversy
-
St Francis School Leads €60,000 EU Project to Transform Early Childhood Education
-
From First Date to Wedding Day: How a TV Quote Sparked a Lifetime Commitment
-
South Africa's Universal Health Coverage Depends on Tackling Poverty and Inequality
-
Malta Stuns Sweden with Late Penalty Comeback in Rugby Europe Trophy
-
Rare Siberian Rubythroat Dies in UK Garden After Cat Attack
-
BingX: Major Announcement of Far-Reaching Significance
-
Go Kyung-pyo Drunk Driving Incident Prompts Heavy Editing Across Multiple TV Shows
-
Élan Opens as Late-Night Wine Bar in Honolulu
-
KFF Health News Reporters Discuss ACA Enrollment Challenges, Rising Costs, and Measles Risks
-
Shiv Sena (UBT) Criticizes NCP Merger Talks as 'Ridiculous Laughing Stock'
North Korea has deployed more troops to Russia: Seoul
North Korea has sent more soldiers to Russia and re-deployed several to the frontline in Kursk, Seoul's spy agency told AFP on Thursday.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said that more than 10,000 soldiers from the reclusive state were sent to Russia last year to help it fight a shock Ukrainian offensive into the Kursk border region.
Earlier this month, Seoul said North Korean soldiers previously fighting alongside Russia's army on the Kursk frontline had not been engaged in combat since mid-January.
Ukraine also said they had been withdrawn following heavy losses.
On Thursday, an official from Seoul's National Intelligence Agency said they had been "redeployed" there.
That came alongside "some additional troop deployments appearing to have taken place," the official added.
"The exact scale is still being assessed," the official said.
Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have confirmed the deployment.
But the two countries signed an agreement, including a mutual defence clause, when Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to the nuclear-armed North last year.
- 'Brutal' fighting -
Ukraine has previously said it captured or killed several North Korean soldiers in Kursk.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has also released footage of interrogations with what he said were North Korean prisoners captured by the Ukrainian army there.
And this month, Seoul's Chosun Ilbo newspaper published an interview with a North Korean soldier describing "brutal" fighting on the frontline.
The soldier, who was visibly wounded, told the paper that many of his fellow North Korean soldiers had been killed by drones and artillery fire.
"Everyone who joined the army with me is dead," he said.
Pyongyang and Moscow have deepened political, military and cultural ties since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In a New Year's letter, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed Putin and made a possible reference to the war in Ukraine.
He said 2025 would be the year "when the Russian army and people defeat neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory".
On Wednesday, North Korean state media reported Kim had visited a major military academy, urging troops to harness the "actual experiences of modern warfare".
O.Krause--BTB
