SpaceWar.com reports: “North Korea is likely preparing to send additional troops to Russia after suffering heavy losses in battles against Ukrainian forces, South Korea’s military said Friday.

‘With about four months passing since North Korea’s deployment to the Russia-Ukraine war, it is presumed that follow-up measures and preparations for additional deployment are being accelerated due to the occurrence of many casualties and prisoners of war,’ South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a written assessment shared with reporters.

The JCS assessment added that North Korea is continuing preparations to launch advanced weapons such as an intercontinental ballistic missile or spy satellite, although it said no launches were imminent.

Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula since the beginning of the year, with North Korea firing what it claims is a new hypersonic missile as well as a salvo of short-range missiles ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday.

The United States claims that some 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia, with many joining battles on the frontlines in Kursk Oblast…”