South Korea’s military says it suspects North Korea is preparing to send additional troops to Russia after its soldiers already deployed on the Russian-Ukraine war fronts suffered heavy casualties.

South Korea's military said on Friday that it suspects North Korea is preparing to send more troops to Russia to fight Ukrainian forces, even after suffering losses and seeing some of its soldiers captured.

North Korea may be accelerating plans to send more troops to replace frontline casualties incurred fighting Ukraine on behalf of Russia.

Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov said North Korea has already provided Russia with 120 self-propelled artillery guns and 120 multiple-launch rocket systems, with more to come.

It will mostly be missile and artillery troops who typically operate hundreds of tubed and rocket artillery systems as well as the KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles Pyongyang has already provided Moscow,

Ukrainian forces described a different kind of enemy, fighting with unfamiliar tactics and little option to retreat.

Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

North Korea is set to provide Russia with at least 150 KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, along with artillery shells and related systems, in 2025. Source: The War Zone, citing Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) Quote: "Artillery is used to support both North Korean and Russian operations,