South Korea’s military says it suspects North Korea is preparing to send additional troops to Russia after its soldiers already deployed on the Russian-Ukraine war fronts suffered heavy casualties

North Korea has not responded to reports of its troops captured or killed by Ukraine forces. It has never publicised the deployment or large shipments of North Korean artillery shells and other weapons sent to Russia to help its war against Ukraine, although they marked the country’s first intervention in a major armed conflict overseas in decades.

North Korea is likely preparing to send additional troops to Russia after suffering heavy losses in battles against Ukrainian forces, South Korea's military said Friday.

British intelligence has reported that one-third of the troops deployed alongside Russian forces in Ukraine are already out of action. Pyongyang sent a contingent of 12,000 soldiers to Russia to assist local forces in regaining lost territory in the Kursk region,