North Korea (DPRK) has deployed additional military units to the Kursk region of Russia to participate in hostilities against Ukrainian forces.

Yonhap reported on this with reference to South Korean intelligence.

South Korean intelligence is currently working to establish the exact number of newly arrived North Korean soldiers.

“After about a month of lull, North Korean troops have been returning to the frontline areas of the Kursk region since early February,” the intelligence service said.

South Korean intelligence took note of media reports that between 1,000 and 3,000 North Korean troops had recently arrived in the Kursk region between January and February as part of the second phase of the DPRK’s troop deployment.

Meanwhile, South Korean military officials have reported intelligence indications that the North Korean regime has already sent more than 1,000 additional soldiers to Russia this year.

According to intelligence estimates from various countries, last year, the DPRK sent about 11,000 troops to Russia to participate in the war against Ukraine.

In February, Vadym Skibitsky, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, said that Russia had begun training the DPRK military to work with military equipment.

According to him, North Korean soldiers are quickly adapting to the conditions of war and the new threats they face at the front in the Kursk region. In particular, they have become more aware of the importance of drones on the battlefield and are now using them more effectively.

These changes are also evident on the battlefield: offensive tactics are gradually changing; instead of massive infantry attacks, smaller assault groups are increasingly being used.

Militarnyi reported in February that the Russian army had once again engaged the North Korean military in assaults in the Kursk region.

According to South Korea’s Defense Ministry, in addition to soldiers, ballistic missiles, and ammunition, the DPRK has transferred about 200 long-range artillery systems to Russia. Previously, unmanned Systems Forces’ 412th NEMESIS Regiment pilots have, for the first time, engaged a North Korean M1989 Koksan 170mm self-propelled artillery system.