The war between Ukraine and Russia has been going on for five straight years. Heavy casualties are being reported on both sides, but there is no sign of the war ending so far. Instead, its intensity is rising — and North Korea’s involvement in it is growing.
A Ukrainian intelligence official has claimed that, after sending troops and weapons, Pyongyang has now also deployed a missile unit to Russia. This is being seen as North Korea’s largest military involvement in any war since the Korean War (in the 1950s).
The Ukrainian official claimed the new unit has at least 90 North Korean soldiers, who are believed to be deployed in Russia’s Voronezh region. Last July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was planning to bring in another 30,000 North Korean troops and preparing the necessary infrastructure in Voronezh to receive them. Reuters could not independently verify these claims.
How many troops has North Korea sent?
According to initial assessments by Ukraine, the United States and South Korea, North Korea sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia in late 2024. In January 2025, the US deputy permanent representative to the UN said more than 12,000 North Korean troops were then in Russia. Later, according to Ukrainian and South Korean data, the number in Russia’s Kursk region rose to about 14,000 to 15,000. A Ukrainian intelligence official said this month that there were currently about 9,500 North Korean troops in Kursk, but that they were not now directly taking part in military operations against Ukraine.
In April 2025, Russia and North Korea formally confirmed that North Korean troops had taken part in fighting against Ukrainian forces in Kursk. After Russia claimed to have retaken Kursk, its top military officer praised the North Korean troops’ role, while Pyongyang said the deployment had been ordered by leader Kim Jong Un.
What other personnel have been announced?
In June 2025, Russian Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu said North Korea would send 1,000 mine-clearing specialists (sappers) and 5,000 military construction workers to Kursk to help clear mines in war-ravaged areas and rebuild damaged infrastructure. The same month, citing a South Korean National Intelligence Service briefing, the country’s lawmakers said North Korea had begun preparing to send more personnel to Russia, while continuing to supply ammunition and missiles — receiving, it is believed, economic cooperation and military-technical assistance in return. Whether the extra engineers, mine-clearers or new troops have already reached Russia, or are taking part in the war, is not yet clear.
What weapons has North Korea supplied?
According to Ukraine and independent observers, North Korea has supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar shells, ballistic missiles, long-range guns and multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS). A joint analysis by Reuters and the UK-based Open Source Centre found that from September 2023 to March 2025, four Russian-flagged cargo ships made 64 voyages between North Korea’s Rajin port and Russian ports, carrying about 16,000 containers of ammunition.
Ukrainian officials claim North Korea is supplying about half of the ammunition Russia needs on the battlefield. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) said North Korea had given Russia about 4 million (40 lakh) artillery shells since mid-2023, and had supplied 148 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles by the start of 2025.
Why is North Korea helping Russia?
During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June 2024, he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty. It includes a clause under which, if one country faces outside aggression, the other will assist it.
North Korea says it has sent troops to help an ally under the treaty. In May 2025, Kim Jong Un said taking part in the defence of a “brotherly state” was a legitimate exercise of North Korea’s sovereign rights. According to analysts, through this cooperation North Korea is gaining foreign currency, oil, economic aid, Russian military technology and real combat experience.
North Korean troops are also gaining hands-on experience of drone warfare, electronic warfare, artillery coordination and modern combat tactics, while getting the chance to test the effectiveness of their missiles and ammunition on a real battlefield.
The United States and its allies say North Korea’s troop deployment and weapons supplies to Russia violate UN Security Council resolutions. UN sanctions have been in force on North Korea since 2006 over its nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile programmes. Under these sanctions, other countries may not host North Korean military trainers, advisers or related personnel for military or paramilitary training. In December 2024, Washington imposed fresh sanctions on several North Korean and Russian individuals and entities accused of being involved in providing military and financial support to Moscow. South Korea has also sanctioned individuals and entities linked to the two countries’ illegal military cooperation.
NATO, meanwhile, has warned that Russia’s growing military and economic ties with North Korea, China and Iran are becoming a concern not only for Europe but also for the security of the Indo-Pacific region and North America.
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