North Korea and Russia discussed deploying North Korean troops to the war in Ukraine as early as July 2023, about a year before the actual deployment took place, according to a Japanese media report.

Specific claims have also been raised that the death toll among the deployed North Korean troops has reached 2,288.

Japan's Sankei Shimbun reported this citing a North Korean source who toured Pyongyang's "Memorial for Military Operations and Combat Feats Abroad."

Exhibition materials at the memorial state that a Russian military delegation visiting North Korea in July 2023 met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to request troop deployment, which served as the catalyst for bilateral negotiations on the matter.

This period coincided with then-Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu leading a military delegation to Pyongyang.

North Korea and Russia signed the "Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," which includes provisions for mutual military assistance in the event of an emergency, in June 2024, about a year later.

The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia's western Kursk region began in earnest in October of that year.

If the Sankei report is accurate, it means North Korea and Russia were discussing the deployment of North Korean troops to the Ukraine war even before signing a treaty equivalent to a military alliance.

The specific scale of casualties among North Korean troops deployed to Russia was also presented.

The source stated that the memorial records 2,288 North Korean soldiers who have died since the deployment.

Tombstones for 300 of these fallen soldiers designated as "heroes" have been erected in a cemetery near the memorial, while the cremated remains of the remaining soldiers are enshrined on the second and third floors of the memorial, according to the report.

More than half of the casualties are reportedly young soldiers in their late teens to early twenties.

Documents of soldiers swearing not to be captured as prisoners by Ukrainian forces are also reportedly on display at the memorial.

The North Korean source claimed that "more than half of the fallen soldiers appear to have blown themselves up," adding that many soldiers were killed by drone attacks.

Information regarding additional troop deployments has also emerged.

Sankei reported that there was intelligence indicating North Korean missile units were additionally dispatched to western Russia last month, adding that the actual scale of North Korean casualties may have consequently increased.

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Kim Min-ji | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News