No signs of additional deployment of N. Korean troops to Russia detected: S. Korean military

Seoul, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean lawmakers have found no evidence of North Korea sending more troops to Russia, according to a report from the South Korean military. However, Pyongyang is believed to be still preparing for a possible deployment, a lawmaker stated. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) reported that North Korea continues to prepare for deployment, yet no indication of an imminent troop dispatch has been identified.

This assessment follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's claim last month that Russia was planning to bring in an additional 30,000 North Korean troops to a border region in the southwest to aid its war against Ukraine. A military official confirmed that North Korea is internally preparing for the possibility of an additional deployment, but no signs of actual preparations have been detected at the operational level thus far.

North Korean leader Kim Yo-jong dismissed Zelenskyy's claim as "completely groundless" last week. The DIA estimated that North Korea has deployed over 16,000 troops to Russia since October 2024, many of which are believed to have been killed or wounded. Pyongyang is also believed to have supplied more than 15 million rounds of artillery shells to Russia, as per the intelligence agency.