21.08.2026. 18:41h
North Korea intends to increase the number of its troops fighting on Moscow’s side in the war against Ukraine. This would mean as many as 50.000 North Koreans could be deployed in Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In late July, the Ukrainian leader said Russia wanted to bring in 30.000 more North Korean troops, and this weekend he mentioned a figure of “30.000 to 50.000.” He did not specify whether that number included North Korean soldiers already fighting in the conflict.
Zelensky also warned last weekend that North Korea was gaining valuable experience in modern warfare and called on South Korea to step up cooperation with Ukraine on air defense and drones. Two days later, he said that Russia had received more North Korean ballistic missiles that were allegedly used in the attack on Zaporozhye.
Pyongyang has suffered heavy losses so far
Russia and North Korea signed a defense treaty in the summer of 2024; North Korea began sending troops to Russia a few months later. Analysts estimate that between 14.000 and 15.000 troops are deployed, mostly in the Kursk region.
Pyongyang later agreed to send another 6.000 troops, including deminers and engineers. North Korea has also supplied Russia with millions of artillery shells and ballistic missiles, according to South Korean and Ukrainian authorities. South Korean intelligence estimates that about 6.000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded.
On Thursday, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency, citing Ukrainian military intelligence, reported that the upcoming increase in the number of North Korean troops had been confirmed. Ukrainian sources said that up to 50.000 North Korean soldiers could be deployed to Russia by the end of November. According to the reports, the soldiers would take over tasks in the Russian regions of Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod, so that Russian forces could be relieved of their duties there and sent to fight on the Ukrainian front.
“Better” cooperation
South Korean lawmaker Ju Yong-won told DW that military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is getting better.
Ju is a former military journalist who visited Ukraine in 2025 and again in February this year. “I’m worried because it seems like this is becoming a reality,” he told DW.
Yu noted that 30.000 to 50.000 troops would be significantly more than the approximately 20.000 troops and support personnel involved in the initial deployment. He noted that “the continued expansion of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow requires greater attention from the South Korean government and military.”
Han Ki-bum, former deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, also warns: “Ukraine initially talked about an additional 30.000 troops, before increasing the estimate to 50.000, without releasing detailed evidence of the planned deployment,” he told DW.
“North Korea has enough manpower to enable such a deployment without seriously weakening its own defenses,” Han believes.
“Although the war is largely at a standstill, a country fighting a protracted war will always find itself short of manpower,” Han said. “North Korean infantry could thus guard Russian rear areas, allowing more Russian soldiers to be sent to the front in Ukraine.”
Russian officials praise North Koreans
“North Korea also benefits from this arrangement; its troops gain experience in 21st-century warfare and test weapons in real combat conditions. Deeper cooperation could provide North Korea with better access to Russian missile, naval and air defense know-how and technology,” Han said.
He estimates that of the approximately 6.000 North Korean fighters, approximately 2.000 were killed.
“It is believed that between 1.000 and 2.000 soldiers and engineers have not returned home, where veterans and families of those killed have reportedly been provided with housing and other benefits,” Han said.
“North Korean troops suffered heavy losses at the beginning, but became more effective as they adapted to the fight,” Han said. “Their aggressive fighting style may explain why Putin and other Russian officials praised their bravery.”
North Korean women also go to Russia
Ahn Chan-il, director of the World Institute for North Korea Studies and a former North Korean soldier, believes that “the deployment of 50.000 troops is militarily feasible” and that Pyongyang would send “elite special operations forces.”
“North Korean special forces are particularly skilled in reconnaissance, surprise attacks and ambushes, and they have demonstrated their combat capabilities on the Kursk front, which makes them attractive to the Russian military,” said Ahn, who defected from North Korea in 1979.
“However, if 30.000 troops are deployed, the contingent will likely not only consist of special forces, but also infantry, engineers, construction workers and female medical personnel,” he added.
“North Korean women have recently been spotted going to Russia, but it is not yet clear whether they are being sent for reconstruction work or as medical personnel.”
The war in Ukraine as a training ground for the North Korean army
According to Ahn, “surviving soldiers could bring valuable combat experience back to North Korea. Some could become junior officers or instructors, thus passing on to the army experience in drone warfare, reconnaissance, and other aspects of the conflict.”
“Young soldiers are also exposed to life outside one of the most isolated societies in the world. However, the sharp increase in the number of casualties could make it difficult to portray the war as a success,” added Ahn.
“A limited number of deaths can be presented as heroic. But tens of thousands of dead and wounded could mean numerous grieving families and war invalids, which could turn North Korea’s battlefield experience into a burden on the domestic political plane,” Ahn concludes.
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