North Korea intends to continue its military operations in Ukraine and is ready to triple the number of its troops fighting on the side of Russia. This was reported by CNN, relying on Ukrainian intelligence here.
According to intelligence calculations, Pyongyang could send an additional 25-30 thousand soldiers to assist Moscow. Documents obtained from Kyiv suggest that these troops could arrive in Russia in the coming months. They will join the 11,000 North Korean soldiers sent in November to repel the Ukrainian Armed Forces' incursion into the Kursk region. Western officials have stated that during this operation, approximately 4,000 North Korean soldiers were wounded or killed.
Despite casualties, Pyongyang's cooperation with Moscow is only accelerating. Ukrainian intelligence believes Russia is capable of supplying North Korean troops with all the “necessary equipment, weapons, and ammunition” and integrating them into its combat units. A document obtained by CNN indicates a “high probability” of North Korean troops participating in large-scale attack operations on Ukrainian territory.
It is said that the necessary equipment, ships, and cargo planes for relocating North Korean troops have already been dispatched. Satellite images provided to CNN by the non-profit military intelligence organization Open Source Centre could show a ship intended for troop transport near the Danube port (70 km from Nakhodka) on May 18, and IL-76 cargo planes at the Sunan airport in North Korea on June 4. The senior analyst of the Open Source Center, Joe Byrne, notes that North Korea could use previously utilized routes to transport its troops. Jenny Town, director of the Korea program at the “Stimson” center, considers Ukraine's estimate of 30,000 people as very high and assesses a figure of 10-20 thousand as more “realistic.”
North Korea sent 11,000 troops to Russia in the fall of 2024, confirmed by Russian President Vladimir Putin towards the end of April. The Secretary of the Security Council, who was formerly the defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, visited Pyongyang on June 17. During his visit, his second in two weeks, Shoigu announced the dispatch of 1,000 North Korean sappers and 5,000 military construction workers to Russia for demining and reconstruction of the Kursk region.
