North Korea is preparing to send additional troops to Russia, despite their role as “human bait” on the battlefield, a new report has warned.

The despotic regime is understood to be “accelerating follow-up measures and preparation for an additional dispatch of troops”, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a memo on Friday.

Military observers and Ukrainian commanders have said that North Korean soldiers have not been trained in modern warfare and are being used as cannon fodder by their Russian allies.

The diary of one soldier, recovered in December 2024, explained how Pyongyang’s troops are being used to break cover and attract the attention of Ukrainian drones, while other soldiers lie in wait to shoot them down.

“When the bait stands still, the drone will stop and it will be shot down,” the soldier explained, using stick-figure illustrations.