Seoul: Pyongyang supplying Russia with up to 15,000 troops, artillery

North Korea is supplying Russia with up to 15,000 soldiers, as well as heavy artillery and ammunition, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Wednesday.
Citing the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in Seoul, Yonhap said intelligence services believe that between 12,000 and 15,000 North Korean troops have been assigned to the Russian military and that some have already been deployed against Ukrainian forces.
Yonhap also said that Pyongyang had provided Russia with heavy artillery including self-propelled howitzers and rocket launchers, confirming a report by the Financial Times on Saturday.
The UK-based newspaper said some 50 M1989 Koksan self-propelled howitzers and almost 20 multiple rocket launchers produced in North Korea have arrived in Russia in recent weeks.
The US State Department recently claimed that thousands of North Korean soldiers are actively fighting alongside Russian forces in the border region near Kursk, where they are engaged against Ukrainian troops.
Military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang has increased this year with a mutual defence pact.