Pyongyang may send around 100,000 North Korean troops to Russia for Ukraine war
- 17 November, 22:13
North Korea may end up sending up to 100,000 troops to Russia for fighting in Ukraine war if Moscow and Pyongyang continue boosting their military ties, US media reported on Sunday, citing a new assessments from Group of 20 countries.
The analysis highlighted that Pyongyang troops will most likely be sent in several batches instead of in a single deployment.
The sudden surge of Russian fighting power at the expense of North Korean troops causes concerns over the course of the war. The deployments would greatly bolster Russia’s army, which was estimated to comprise 470,000 active troops at the start of 2024, according to London’s Royal United Services Institute. According to western officials’ claims, Russia has lost around 700,000 troops since the start of full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February in 2022 with an estimated number of killed Russian soldiers standing at 80,000 since September of this year.
South Korean Defence Ministry declined media’s request to comment on this issue. According to Ukrainian, South Koran and US intelligence reports, North Korea has deployed tens of thousands of troops in Russia and deployed in border Kursk region where Ukraine launched incursion in August. Earlier, Ukrainian envoy to South Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko claimed 15,000 North Korean troop were deployed to fight in Kursk.
