South Korea sees signs that North Korea is preparing more troops, drones in Russia

Written by Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s military said it has received indications that North Korea is preparing to send more troops and weapons, including stealth bombers, to Russia to support its war with Ukraine.

North Korea has already supplied several 240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled howitzers, and appeared to be preparing to produce more suicide bombers to be sent to Russia after leader Kim Jong Un directed a test last month, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in Seoul. . ).

“The suicide bombers are one of the activities that Kim Jong Un is focusing on,” said a JCS official, adding that the North has expressed its intention to hand them over to Russia.

Such drones have been widely used in the war in Ukraine, and Kim ordered the mass production of aerial weapons and the renewal of military theory and education, citing the intensification of global competition, state media reported.

Seoul, Washington and Kyiv have said there are approximately 12,000 North Korean troops in Russia. The JCS said at least 1,100 of them were killed or wounded, according to a briefing released last week by South Korea’s intelligence agency that reported about 100 people were killed and another 1,000 wounded in the Kursk region.

Pyongyang’s growing military relationship with Moscow could pose serious threats to Seoul as it modernizes its military, is considered inferior to the South’s, and gains combat experience, the official said.

Along the heavily fortified border with Korea, the North has sent up to 10,000 troops to turn the area into a wasteland and install barricades and barbed wire in recent weeks, although the numbers were down to a few hundred over the weekend, the JCS said.

The JCS released photos it said showed a North Korean military team testing an electrified wire using a goat.

There is also the possibility that the North will test a medium-range hypersonic missile by the end of the year before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, while sending more junk balloons to the South, it added.

North Korea has launched thousands of balloons with garbage bags attached to them since late May, saying it was in response to balloons carrying propaganda leaflets flown by South Korean activists.

“With the support of Russia, they will probably try to make various strategic conflicts next year, such as launching intercontinental ballistic missiles and conducting a nuclear test to improve its bargaining power with the US,” the official said.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Ed Davies)