File photo of North Korean soldiers in Russia —AP

Agencies SEOUL

North Korea appears to have sent at least 3,000 additional soldiers to Russia early this year, South Korea’s military said on Thursday, demonstrating Pyongyang’s continued support for Moscow’s war on Ukraine as world leaders push for an end to the three-year conflict.

The news comes as Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia is being prepared, according to state media TASS. The reinforcements, sent in January and February, add to the roughly 11,000 troops North Korea has sent to Russia so far, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. About 4,000 of them have been killed or injured in combat, according to Seoul.

Pyongyang has also sent a “significant amount” of short-range ballistic missiles and about 220 pieces of 170-millimeter self-propelled howitzers and 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers, South Korea said. It said the North’s contributions are “expected to increase according to the situation”. These developments are taking place amid shaky efforts by the White House to broker a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, have been deepening security ties since they signed a landmark defence pact last year and pledged to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event the other is attacked. Putin’s top security advisor Sergei Shoigu met with Kim last week in Pyongyang, where he conveyed Putin’s “warmest wishes and greetings”.