Budanov said North Korea has sent 120 self-propelled howitzers and 120 MLRS to Russia, and is likely to send the same number again.

Pyongyang's monthly troop losses could skyrocket if it deploys more troops to the frontlines in Kursk and continues sustaining high losses.

North Korea may be accelerating plans to send more troops to replace frontline casualties incurred fighting Ukraine on behalf of Russia.

It will mostly be missile and artillery troops who typically operate hundreds of tubed and rocket artillery systems as well as the KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles Pyongyang has already provided Moscow,

Ukrainian forces described a different kind of enemy, fighting with unfamiliar tactics and little option to retreat.

The attack came as South Korea’s military said North Korea is preparing to send more troops to join Russia’s fight against Ukraine, despite Pyongyang suffering a high rate of losses among its existing deployment of 11,000 and seeing some of its soldiers captured.

(Reuters) - Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

Over 12,000 North Korean troops are estimated to be fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, the United Nations Security Council learned last week.

Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

There is mounting evidence from the battlefield, intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors that some North Korean soldiers are resorting to extreme measures as they support Russia's three-year war with Ukraine.

Robert Carlin and Hecker write a hypothetical Kim-to-Trump letter based on their understanding of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.