Overview

• Kyiv’s intelligence network reports Pyongyang will deploy 30,000 additional troops to support Moscow’s summer offensive.
• South Korea’s NIS confirms recruitment and transit preparations at Pyongyang’s Sunan Airport are already under way.
• Satellite images from early June show Ilyushin-76 transport planes at Sunan Airport, suggesting imminent troop movements.
• Russia’s Defense Ministry is preparing training, equipment and ammunition to integrate the North Korean forces into frontline operations.
• The expansion builds on a June 2024 mutual defense pact that also facilitated reciprocal arms and technology transfers.