Forbes says North Korea’s growing role in Russia’s war exposes Moscow’s military weakness. Pyongyang is preparing to send 25,000–30,000 more troops to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This would triple its original deployment of 11,000 soldiers, first sent last November to fight against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. The expansion signals Russia’s increasing reliance on foreign forces to sustain its war.

North Korea troops for Russia fill growing gaps on the front

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in June that Russia is amassing 50,000 troops near Ukraine’s northeast. He suggested North Korean units might be used in occupied territories for a new offensive. North Korea could send up to 150,000 troops, Forbes says. Russia reportedly modifies aircraft to move large numbers across Siberia.

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North Korean forces may soon fight inside Ukraine, says Seoul

North Korean state media showed footage of its troops fighting for Russia and confirmed thousands had died. Within months, nearly 4,000 North Korean troops were lost. Pyongyang pulled forces from the front in January 2025. Despite that, 3,000 more troops were deployed in March.

Forbes says this shift marks a deeper military alliance. The relationship now appears strategic, not just transactional.

Putin avoids mobilization with foreign soldiers

In 2024, Russia lost more than 790,000 troops—nearly double Ukraine’s casualties. That year, daily losses exceeded 1,000 soldiers. Russia also lost 15 battalions defending Kursk Oblast. For every square kilometer gained, about 100 Russian troops died, Forbes says.

According to Forbes, Putin has avoided launching another draft due to political risk, and this forced him to rely on non-Russian fighters. Earlier efforts to recruit from Cuba, Nepal, and Africa were small. North Korea became Moscow’s main external source of troops.

Weapons shipments patch Russia’s failing firepower

North Korea also provides Russia critical artillery pieces and shells, and missile systems. Forbes notes Pyongyang sent over 15,000 containers since September 2023. Ukraine believes this supply accounts for 70% of Russian artillery use. Shipments include 9 million shells, hundreds of launchers, and KN-23 ballistic missiles.

Early missile batches were inaccurate. They only improved after joint work between Russian and North Korean experts. Still, North Korea cannot match Western production scale or speed. 

“Thus, North Korea’s weapons support may not be sustainable in the long term; it is mostly a stopgap measure to help Russia regroup,” Forbes says.

South Korea’s intelligence service has revealed that North Korea is preparing to send its troops into Ukrainian territory to support Russian military operations, according to Reuters. The deployment may begin as early as July or August 2025, marking a major battlefield development in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 26 June that while Ukrainian troops maintain a limited presence in Kursk Oblast, North Korean involvement has so far remained outside Ukrainian borders. New intelligence indicates that these foreign troops may soon cross into Ukraine itself—constituting a significant battlefield inflection. The shift would allow Russia to strengthen its ability to conduct simultaneous offensive operations.

South Korean lawmaker: Deployment expected by August

Reuters, citing South Korean member of parliament Lee Seong-kweun, reported that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes Pyongyang is preparing an additional deployment of forces into Russia and eventually Ukraine. Lee said,

“The timing of the additional deployment is that it could be as early as July or August,” following a new troop round-up by North Korea and a recent high-level Russian visit to Pyongyang.

The same NIS briefing revealed that North Korea continues to send artillery and missiles to Russia. In return, Moscow is believed to be providing technical support to Pyongyang for satellite launches and missile guidance systems.

Deployment seen as part of wider coordinated assault

The ISW assessed that this move may be designed to support Russia’s expanding large-scale offensive operations. According to the think tank, Russian forces are gradually advancing simultaneously in at least three major directions: Borova-Lyman (Kharkiv Oblast), Kostiantynivka, and Novopavlivka (Donetsk Oblast).

While in the past Moscow relied on staggered and more localized attacks, Russia now appears to be capable—or at least attempting—multi-front assaults. Reinforcements from North Korea could boost this effort.

“It is not possible to forecast the likely impact of North Korean support of this type without more information about the size and composition of the North Korean troop contingent that would be going to Ukraine, nor is it clear how rapidly new North Korean troops would become effective in operations alongside Russian troops in Ukraine,” ISW wrote.

Mutual defense pact underpins growing cooperation

Both North Korea and Russia recently confirmed the presence of North Korean troops and their contribution to Russia’s campaign to reclaim territory in Kursk Oblast. Their military cooperation is grounded in a treaty signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June 2024, which includes mutual defense clauses.

Ukrainian forces continue to hold around 90 square kilometers of territory in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, according to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyy. He claims that the operation has blocked a planned Russian assault on the Pokrovsk direction in Donetsk Oblast by forcing the redeployment of enemy troops.

Liga reports on 22 June that General Syrskyy, speaking to journalists, has confirmed that Ukrainian forces remain in control of approximately 90 km² in the Glushkovo district of Kursk Oblast. He explained that the operation prevented a large-scale Russian advance toward Pokrovsk by anchoring enemy troops in place.

“Our active operations in the Glushkovo district of Kursk Oblast disrupted these plans. As a result, those units were not relocated to other directions. One of the brigades already moving toward the Pokrovsk direction was returned to Kursk,” Syrskyy said.

Syrskyy also highlighted that the Kursk operation had earlier drawn in nearly 63,000 Russian soldiers and about 7,000 North Korean troops, reducing pressure along other fronts and enabling Ukrainian forces to regroup.

The Ukrainian battlefield monitoring project Deep State’s map shows only 5.5 km² in Kursk Oblast as controlled by the Ukrainian forces.

Russia concentrates forces but stalls at Ukrainian border

Currently, roughly 10,000 Russian troops are engaged in combat within Glushkovo, according to Syrskyy. Meanwhile, near the Northeastern border in the Pivnichnoslobozhanskyi direction – north of Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, Russia has amassed around 50,000 personnel, including two airborne divisions, four main brigades, the 177th Marine Regiment from the Caspian Flotilla, and other units.

Despite the buildup, Russian forces advancing from Kursk into Sumy Oblast have been stopped just several kilometers inside Ukraine, along the line of Kindrativka, Andriivka, Yablunivka, and Yunakivka.

Syrskyy noted progress on the border:

“The situation there is stabilized. During this period, we reclaimed Andriivka, and in Yunakivka we advanced between 200 to 700 meters over the past week.”

Ukrainian forces launch assault on Yunakivka after liberating Andriivka in Sumy Oblast