South Korea’s spy agency said Thursday that North Korea appears to have sent additional troops to Russia, after its soldiers deployed on the Russian-Ukraine fronts suffered heavy casualties. The National Intelligence Service said in a brief statement it was trying to determine exactly how many more troops North Korea has

The fresh deployment comes after North Korea suffered heavy casualties on the front lines in Russia’s war against Ukraine, the South’s spy agency says.

North Korea allegedly provided more troops to Russia for support in their war in Ukraine, according to South Korea’s spy agency. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service announced it detected new troop movements from North Korea but did not specify how many troops have been deployed to Russia recently.

South Korea said it’s willing to accept any North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine who express a desire to defect to the South, an idea that emerges amid reports of thousands of North Korean soldiers sustaining casualties in support of Russian troops.

South Korea's spy agency also said there appears to be a deployment of fresh North Korean troops. This comes after reports of earlier heavy losses.

Two North Korean soldiers captured in January in the Kursk region are currently receiving medical treatment. They are testifying about North Korea's involvement in the war on Russia's side, The Wall Street Journal reports.