North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared “unconditional support” for Russia’s war against Ukraine during a meeting with top Russian official Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang, according to North Korean state media on 5 June.

AP reports that Kim met with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang on 4 June. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim told Shoigu that North Korea would “unconditionally support the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues including the Ukrainian issue.” The visit marks an intensification of cooperation between the two countries.

KCNA added that the two officials discussed how to solidify the strategic partnership between North Korea and Russia, reaching a consensus on the Ukraine issue and other unspecified international situations. No further details were provided by the North Korean outlet.

North Korea’s troops, shells, missiles aided Russia in war against Ukraine, breaching UN sanctions, report confirms

Troop deployment and military presence

In April 2025, North Korea and Russia officially confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia for the first time. The confirmation stated that North Korean and Russian soldiers were fighting side by side against what they described as a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast. 

Though neither Russia nor North Korea has released troop counts, intelligence from the US, South Korea, and Ukraine has previously stated that North Korea sent between 10,000 and 12,000 troops to Russia last fall. South Korean authorities recently added that another 3,000 troops were dispatched earlier this year.

North Korea supplied Russia with 9 mn rounds of ammunition and 100 ballistic missiles since 2023

Russia’s state-run Tass news agency, citing the Russian Security Council’s press service, reported that Shoigu and Kim also discussed the reconstruction of Kursk Oblast and agreed on steps to honor the contributions of North Korean soldiers involved in the fighting there.

Despite Russia’s April 2025 claim of full control over Kursk Oblast, Ukraine’s army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Saturday that Ukrainian forces still hold ground there.