Estonian Intelligence Says North Korea May Send More Troops to Russia Before Summer

Estonian intelligence has seen signs that North Korea will send more troops to help Russia before the summer. Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defence Forces Intelligence Centre, said this at a briefing on 24 January, ERR reports.

Kiviselg said that several thousand North Korean soldiers, who are taking part in the fighting mainly in the Kursk region of Russia, have already suffered losses - killed or wounded. There is also information about North Korea's intentions to send a new group of troops to help Russia by the summer.  

The Estonian intelligence officer noted that Russian forces have not yet succeeded in pushing Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region. Ukrainian forces continue to hold about half of the territory they previously seized.  

‘Fighting continues on the outskirts of this territory, where Russian troops have not been able to achieve significant success,’ Kiviselg said.  

He also stressed that Ukraine controls the largest settlement in the Kursk region, Sudzha, which is of great logistical importance.  

The North Korean military, which is fighting on the side of the Russian army in this region, has suffered several thousand casualties. Kiviselg noted that to maintain its presence in the war zone, North Korea will have to rotate its soldiers.  

‘This week, there were reports that North Korea plans to send a new group of soldiers by the summer. It is not yet known whether these will be new units in their entirety or replacements for losses in existing units. Only time will tell,’ he added.  

At the end of December 2024, it became known that in the last week of December alone, North Korean troops lost a thousand people - killed and wounded - in the Kursk region.