North Korea has been supplying a vast amount of conventional weapons to Russia, and last fall it sent about 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia as well, according to US, South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials.
In its Feb 27 statement, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it was trying to determine exactly how many more troops North Korea has deployed to Russia. South Korean media put the number of newly deployed North Korean soldiers at about 1,000 to 3,000.
South Korea, the US and others suspect North Korea is receiving economic and military assistance from Russia in return for providing weapons and troops. Many experts say North Korea will likely ramp up its support of Russia to win as many benefits as possible from Russia before the war ends.
Shoigu’s trip could be related to preparations for Kim to visit Russia, some observers say. Putin invited Kim to visit Moscow when he visited Pyongyang last year for the summit.
In 2023, when Shoigu, then defence minister, travelled to North Korea, Kim gave him a personal tour of a North Korean arms exhibition in what outside critics likened to a sales pitch.
In September 2024, Shoigu, then in the new security council post, went to North Korea again for a meeting with Kim, and the two discussed expanding cooperation, according to North Korea’s state media.
Earlier Friday, KCNA said Kim oversaw the test launches of new anti-aircraft missiles the previous day. It cited Kim as calling the missiles “another major defence weapons system” for North Korea.
The missile launches, North Korea’s sixth weapons testing activity this year, occurred on the same day that the US and South Korean militaries concluded their annual training that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
The 11-day Freedom Shield exercise was the allies’ first major joint military training since Trump’s inauguration in January.
North Korea often responds to major US-South Korean military drills with its own weapons tests and fiery rhetoric. Hours after this year’s Freedom Shield training began on Mar 10, North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea.
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