SEOUL, Oct 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - North Korea has sent 1,500 more soldiers to Russia, Seoul's spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday, with 10,000 troops expected to be deployed by December.

The latest deployment brings the number of Pyongyang's troops in Russia to 3,000, lawmaker Park Sun-won said, after a briefing by the National Intelligence Service.

"An additional 1,500 troops are believed to have been deployed to Russia... so approximately 3,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to have been deployed to Russia so far," Park, who sits on parliament's intelligence committee, told reporters.
 
"The planned deployment of about 10,000 troops from North Korea to Russia is expected to  have occurred by December," he added.

Seoul's spy agency last week said Pyongyang had decided to send a "large-scale" troop deployment to Russia to fight against Ukraine, cementing Pyongyang's contentious military alliance with Moscow.

North Korean state media has not commented on the purported troop deployment, which Russia has also not confirmed.

South Korea has long claimed the nuclear-armed North is supplying Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine, and Seoul expressed alarm over the troop deployment, which comes after Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a military deal in June.

- Families unhappy? -

Another lawmaker said rumours were spreading within the tightly controlled North that the elite "Storm Corps" had been sent to Russia.

"Additionally, there are reports circulating that the families of the deployed soldiers were so much in grief that their excessive crying has visibly affected their faces," lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters.

"In response, North Korean authorities are said to be strictly controlling information, and there are indications that they are relocating and isolating the families of the deployed soldiers in undisclosed locations to better manage and control them."

Germany on Wednesday said it had summoned North Korea's envoy over Pyongyang's support to Russia in Ukraine and warned the reclusive state against sending troops.

The United States and NATO have yet to confirm the deployment, but Ukrainian media reported President Volodymyr Zelensky saying Tuesday that two North Korean brigades -- with up to 6,000 personnel each -- were undergoing training in Russia.

Also on Tuesday, the Russian Telegram channel Astra released clips purportedly showing Russian and North Korean soldiers, with audio capturing phrases such as "I'm tired" and "we're late" spoken in a North Korean accent.

Lawmaker Lee said that Seoul's spy agency confirmed that the Russian military "is actively recruiting a large number of Korean language interpreters".

The North Korean troops are also being provided with "with training on the use of military equipment, including drone operation and other technical skills".

"Russian instructors participating in military training have assessed that while the North Korean soldiers display excellent physical stamina and morale, they lack sufficient understanding of modern warfare tactics, especially drone-based attacks," Lee said.

As a result, the Russian instructors expect "there could be a significant number of casualties if North Korean forces are deployed to the frontlines," Lee added.

Experts have said that in return for sending soldiers to help Russia, the North's leader Kim is likely aiming to acquire military technologies, ranging from surveillance satellites to submarines, plus possible security guarantees from Moscow.

Both North Korea and Russia are under rafts of UN sanctions -- Kim for his weapons program, and Moscow for the war in Ukraine.