South Korea’s military says it suspects North Korea is preparing to send additional troops to Russia after its soldiers already deployed on the Russian-Ukraine war fronts suffered heavy casualties.

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.

Soldiers fighting for Ukraine describe facing relentless waves of determined North Korean troops, Russian units with improved tactics, and Ukraine’s own struggles with exhaustion and sinking morale.

North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un reportedly sent nearly 10,000 to 12,000 troops to aid the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the Kursk region in October

North Korea and Russia's deepening military relationship has sounded alarm in South Korea and the United States.

"North Korea is presumed to be accelerating preparations for the additional deployment of its troops to Russia while continuing to push for potential launches of a spy satellite or an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM),