"North Korea Expected to Expand Troop Deployment to Russia to 50,000… Russian Forces to Focus on Donbas"

North Korea and Russia are reportedly considering a plan to increase the scale of North Korean troops dispatched to Russia to 50,000 by the end of November, Kyodo News reported on the 13th, citing data from the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

According to this data, North Korea and Russia are planning to expand the scale of North Korea's troop deployment from the current level of about 10,000 to 50,000 over a period of about three months, and deploy North Korean troops to three western Russian oblasts bordering Ukraine.

This is interpreted as an intention to redeploy Russian forces previously stationed in the three western oblasts to engagement areas in Ukraine, thereby capturing the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine within this year.

It is reported that the plan is to expand the deployment range of North Korean troops, which have mostly been stationed in Russia's western Kursk Oblast, to Bryansk and Belgorod oblasts adjacent to Kursk Oblast.

Kyodo News commented that Russia's objective appears to be entrusting the defense of the western border to North Korean troops and concentrating its own military forces on the deadlocked Donbas region.

An official from the Ukrainian intelligence agency stated that North Korea and Russia are expected to finalize this plan at the leadership level.

This is in line with recent claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia wants an additional deployment of 30,000 troops from North Korea and is preparing to station them in border areas.

President Zelenskyy stated on X (formerly Twitter) on the 25th of last month (local time), "Russia wants an additional 30,000 troops deployed from North Korea," and has repeatedly made similar claims since stating that "preparations to accommodate them in Russia's Voronezh region have been underway since June."

In an interview with a local Ukrainian broadcaster, he also said, "At first, we talked about hundreds, then it grew to thousands, and now a decision has been made to deploy 30,000 to 50,000 North Korean troops on Russian territory."

According to an investigation by the Ukrainian intelligence agency, the number of North Korean ground troops currently dispatched inside Russia is estimated at about 9,500.

In addition, North Korea is known to have recently dispatched 90 personnel from a missile unit to Russia's Voronezh Oblast.

North Korea is also known to have recently sent an additional 40 new KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles along with operating personnel to Russia.

It has been suggested that these missiles may have been used in Russia's attacks on Ukraine on the 30th of last month and the 11th of this month.

Andrii Cherniak of the Ukrainian intelligence agency stated that North Korean missile units have already begun deployment in Russia's western Voronezh Oblast, Reuters reported earlier this month.

Cherniak said that a North Korean missile unit consisting of about 90 personnel will be attached to Russia's 112th Missile Brigade in the region, and the Russian side expects the deployment of up to 120 North Korean ballistic missiles and 6 launchers.

It is estimated that North Korea has provided about 150 missiles to Russia since August of last year.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.