North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday after being briefed by the national intelligence agency. That estimate is twice the previous figure.
Pyongyang had promised to provide a total of about 10,000 troops, whose deployment was expected to be completed by December, the lawmakers told journalists.
The latest numbers came after Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said on Friday the North had sent some 1,500 special forces to Russia by ship.
“Signs of troops being trained inside North Korea were detected in September and October,” Park Sun-won, a member of a parliamentary intelligence committee, said after the briefing.
“It appears that the troops have now been dispersed to multiple training facilities in Russia and are adapting to the local environment.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also accused Pyongyang of preparing to send 10,000 soldiers to Russia, calling on …