South Korea’s National Intelligence Service confirms reports that Kim Jong-un’s battered forces have been off the frontline since mid-January

North Korean troops sent to fight alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine have not been seen in battle for several weeks, raising speculation that they have been withdrawn after suffering heavy losses, according to South Korea’s spy agency.

The National Intelligence Service in Seoul this week confirmed media reports that North Korean troops had been pulled from the frontline around the middle of January.

North Korea began sending an estimated 11,000 troops to the Russian Kursk region in late 2024, soon after the North’s ruler, Kim Jong-un, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, agreed a mutual defence pact designed to strengthen their alliance against what they called a US-led “western hegemony”.

  • Cowbee [he/they]
    7·
    4 hours ago

    Sure, but that doesn’t mean “sources say” is a good source coming from the same “sources” that claimed Iraq had WMD. The US and ROK Intelligence agencies aren’t honest about their adversaries.

    We know the DPRK and RF have a mutual defense treaty, and that the DPRK has been sending munitions. This has overwhelming evidence. What does not, appears to be DPRK troops fighting on the front lines or suffering “massive losses.”