““For the entire time since the beginning of the participation of the North Korean contingent in the war against Ukraine, about three thousand trained and experienced soldiers have already returned to the DPRK. Most of them become military instructors””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“Under the command of the Russians, the soldiers of the North Korean army, in particular, fire from barrel artillery and rocket salvo fire systems, perform aerial reconnaissance and artillery reconnaissance tasks, and adjust the strikes of MLRS. The focus on mastering unmanned technologies and gaining experience in conducting modern warfare is a characteristic feature and one of the key goals of the North Korean army’s participation in the Russian-Ukrainian war,” the message reads.
According to the GUR, within the framework of the agreements between Moscow and Pyongyang, DPRK servicemen stationed in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation are regularly rotated.
“For the entire time since the beginning of the participation of the North Korean contingent in the war against Ukraine, about three thousand trained and experienced soldiers have already returned to the DPRK. Most of them become military instructors in order to transfer the acquired skills of 21st century warfare to the entire army of the DPRK,” says the GUR.
South Korean intelligence (NIS) reported in the fall of 2025 that North Korea had sent about 5,000 military construction workers to Russia since September, as expected, “to restore infrastructure.” It was also reported that almost 10,000 North Korean soldiers are stationed near the Russian-Ukrainian border, where they perform “security duties.”
Since October 2024, according to intelligence, North Korea has sent approximately 13,000 of its military personnel to Russia. They took part in battles mostly on the territory of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, where Ukrainian troops entered in August 2024. Several North Koreans were captured by the ZSU.
The US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a report in July that Russia and North Korea appear to be trying to use more covert ways to create pathways, including through labor migration, through which North Korean citizens can join the Russian military.
The multilateral sanctions monitoring group, which includes 11 countries, released a report at the end of May in which it indicated that North Korea has supplied Russia with more than 20,000 containers of ammunition since September 2023, thus facilitating Russian strikes on Ukraine, particularly on critical infrastructure.
Pyongyang and Moscow, which ratified the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty in November 2024, deny arms deliveries, but in April North Korea confirmed the participation of North Korean troops in combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region.