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North Korea has sent 3,000 more soldiers to Russia

27 March 2025 13:38 (UTC +04:00)

North Korea appears to have sent at least 3,000 more soldiers to Russia early this year, South Korea’s military said Thursday, APA reports citing CNN.

The news comes as Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia is being prepared, according to state media TASS.

The reinforcements, sent in January and February, add to the roughly 11,000 troops North Korea has sent to Russia so far, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. About 4,000 of them have been killed or injured in combat, according to Seoul.

Following talks in Saudi Arabia this week, the US said both Russia and Ukraine agreed to stop using force in the Black Sea and uphold a previously announced pause on attacks against energy infrastructure. But Russia introduced some far-reaching conditions for signing up to the partial truce, which falls far short of a 30-day full ceasefire initially proposed by the White House.

The Kremlin said it would only implement the agreements once sanctions on its banks and exports are lifted, showing the significant gulf in expectations between the negotiating parties.