Seoul says Pyongyang is “focused” on supporting Moscow but does not rule out “provocations” during 2025, including “nuclear tests”
Dec. 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The South Korean authorities have estimated this Monday at around 1,100 North Korean soldiers who have died or been injured in the fighting in the Russian region of Kursk (west) between the armies of Ukraine and Russia, which has backing. Pyongyang military.
Thus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea has indicated that Pyongyang would be prepared to deploy troops and additional military equipment in Russia, including kamikaze drones, rocket launchers and artillery, as reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
“An exhaustive analysis of multiple intelligence information shows that North Korea is preparing to rotate or increase the deployment of troops (in Russia),” he said, while speaking of “some signs” that Pyongyang “is preparing to manufacture and supply kamikaze drones first unveiled during a November visit by (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un.”
Last week, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) released several intercepted conversations that, according to kyiv, show that North Korea already has hundreds of casualties – including dead and wounded – within the framework of its deployment in the Russian region of Kursk, scene of a Ukrainian military incursion since August.
In this sense, the JCS has emphasized that North Korea “needs to concentrate over the next year on supporting Russia”, so “it will probably feel a burden when it comes to provoking military tensions or conflicts that could lead to the creation of a new war front”, placing itself in a “grey zone” in which it could carry out “provocations” to South Korea such as launching balloons with garbage or blocking communications.
However, he stressed that “the need to cooperate in the exchange of information with the United States, as well as establishing a firm posture of readiness, are vital,” because “there is also the possibility that North Korea may attempt various provocations.” , such as the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile or a nuclear test to increase its bargaining power against the United States.
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