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.

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 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),