On January 24, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) released an assessment report stating that North Korea is accelerating preparations to deploy more forces to Russia. According to Yonhap, the South Korean side said North Korea has been participating in the conflict against Ukraine for about 4 months and suffered many casualties, with some soldiers being captured.
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South Korea and the US accused North Korea of deploying about 11,000 soldiers to support Russia in fighting Ukraine. South Korea’s intelligence agency estimates that at least 300 North Korean soldiers were killed and 2,700 injured.
Russia and North Korea have so far neither confirmed nor denied that Pyongyang’s soldiers came to Russia to participate in the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently announced that Ukrainian forces had captured two North Korean soldiers alive in Russia’s Kursk province. Ukraine sent troops to attack this province in August 2024.
A North Korean tank unit
Also in the report on January 24, JCS predicted that North Korea is preparing to launch advanced systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles or reconnaissance satellites. However, there are no signs that these launches are about to be carried out.
In 2025, North Korea conducted two missile launches, including a hypersonic missile just days before US President Donald Trump’s inauguration. In an interview with Fox News on January 23, Mr. Trump said he planned to reconnect with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Meanwhile, the JCS assesses that North Korea can launch short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or release balloons containing trash at any time.
North Korea has not commented on the above assessments.
