North Korea plans to send new troops to russia by summer – Estonian intelligence agency

North Korea is reportedly planning to send a new batch of soldiers to the aggressor state of russia to participate in the russian-Ukrainian war by summer.

The commander of the Intelligence Center of the Estonian Ministry of Defense, Colonel Ants Kiviselg, stated this at a briefing on Friday, ERR reports.

Thus, according to the agency, among the North Korean soldiers fighting on the side of russian troops in the Kursk Oblast, losses are estimated at several thousand. Kiviselg noted that if North Korea aims to maintain its presence in the combat zone, it will have to start rotating soldiers.

"And this week, there were reports that North Korea is planning to send a new batch of soldiers by the summer. It is not known what their exact purpose will be, whether it will be to introduce new units in full force or to replace losses in units already fighting. Only time will tell," Kiviselg said.

He noted that russian forces have not yet been able to dislodge Ukrainian forces from the Kursk Oblast, and that the Ukrainians still hold about half of the territory they initially took control of: "Fighting continues on the outskirts of this territory, where Russian forces have not made significant progress." Kiviselg added that Ukraine still controls the largest settlement in the Kursk Oblast and the important logistics center of Sudzha.

The head of the Estonian Intelligence Center also reported that fighting in Ukraine over the past week has been similar to previous weeks; the heaviest fighting is still taking place in the Donetsk Region, in particular near Toretsk, Pokrovsk and Velyka Novosilka, and russian troops are making tactical advances along the entire front.

"The most critical situation at the moment is in Toretsk and Velyka Novosilka," he said.

According to him, in Toretsk, russian troops have only one northeastern district left, but even that is within the reach of indirect fire from russian forces.

Kiviselg said that in Velyka Novosilka, Ukrainian forces are under threat of encirclement, which will likely force the Ukrainians to retreat from there in the coming days.

The heaviest fighting is taking place near the settlement of Pokrovsk: "The settlement is well fortified by Ukrainian forces and the surrounding territories, so Russian troops are trying to bypass the settlement and put pressure on Ukrainian units, creating the risk of encirclement."

Ukraine continues to launch deep strikes on russia, the main targets of which are ammunition.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in the meantime, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea was told that the DPRK is likely accelerating preparations for additional deployment of its troops in russia.

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