Seoul, South Korea — The South Korean military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported on Monday that there are indications that North Korea is preparing to send more troops and weapons to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. According to the South Korean statement, the additional weapons being prepared by North Korea include kamikaze drones. It was also noted that North Korea had already sent rocket launchers and artillery to Russia.
South Korea, along with the United States and Ukraine, believes that North Korea has already deployed approximately 12,000 troops to Russia. The statement from South Korea further indicated that at least 1,100 North Korean personnel have been killed or wounded in the ongoing conflict.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian military officials reported that on Monday they shot down 47 Russian-launched drones during overnight airstrikes targeting multiple regions of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force stated that the total number of drones launched by Russia in its latest daily wave of aerial attacks was 72.
Ukraine’s air defense forces successfully intercepted drones over the regions of Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, and Zhytomyr.
In the Khmelnytskyi region, Governor Serhii Tiurin stated on Telegram that the drone strikes caused damage to a business and several homes, and left one person injured.
On the Russian side, the Ministry of Defense reported that it had destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine. Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz also shared on Telegram that there were no reports of damage or casualties following the Ukrainian strike in the region.
The growing involvement of North Korean troops and weaponry in the Russia-Ukraine war raises serious concerns in the international community, with further tensions anticipated as the conflict continues to unfold.
This report is based on information from the Associated Press, Reuters, and France-Presse.
