North Korean involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

North Korea and the Russian invasion of Ukraine refers to the role North Korea plays in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Since 2022, North Korea supported Russia by recognizing the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic. In the fall of 2024, North Korea reportedly sent military personnel to Russia who went to war against Ukraine for Russia in Russian uniforms and under Russian command.

Diplomatic support for Russia

Meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (right) and Russian president Vladimir Putin (center) in June 2024

North Korea repeatedly sided with Russia during the Ukraine conflict. The country officially recognized Crimea as part of Russia as early as 2017, thereby supporting Moscow's position at the international level.

With the escalation of the conflict and the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, North Korea continued its support for Russia. In July 2022, North Korea recognized the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, supported by Russia. This decision immediately led to the severance of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and North Korea.

Ukraine condemned North Korea's recognition of the separatist territories as a serious breach of international law and an undermining of the country's territorial integrity. In an official statement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that North Korea's decision had no legal relevance.

Relations between Ukraine and North Korea were almost non-existent even before these events. International sanctions against North Korea had prevented any form of cooperation. The official diplomatic break in 2022 was therefore more symbolic.

Arms deliveries to Russia

North Korea's M-1989 Koksan howitzer, a long-range artillery weapon reportedly supplied to Russia to bolster its artillery capabilities in the conflict in Ukraine.

During the Russian-Ukrainian war, North Korea had supported Russia with artillery ammunition, initially drawing on old stocks. These deliveries could explain the high failure rate of up to 50% in the use of this ammunition documented by Ukraine. At the same time, North Korea had its arms industry running at full speed, and it was estimated that it was able to produce up to two million artillery shells annually, making a significant contribution to Russia's warfare.

In mid-November 2024, almost 50 North Korean-made M-1989 Koksan self-propelled howitzers and around 20 M-1991 short-range missile systems were delivered to Russia to reinforce the Russian armed forces in the conflict with Ukraine.

In an interview with The Korea Herald, Wi Sun Lak, the former South Korean ambassador to Russia, stated that North Korea's participation in the war against Ukraine was beneficial to Russia. According to Wi, Russia's support of North Korea helps ease economic problems such as the financial and food crises, as Moscow pays compensation. According to South Korean intelligence, the sale of several containers of artillery shells could enable North Korea to purchase hundreds of thousands of tons of rice. Officials also reported that Russia may be helping North Korea develop space technology.

Deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia

In October 2024, multiple sources reported that North Korean soldiers were undergoing training in eastern Russia. These reports were based on information from the South Korean intelligence agency (NIS), which stated that around 1,500 soldiers had been sent for military training, possibly for deployment in Ukraine. The soldiers were initially transported by Russian ships to Vladivostok, where they received Russian uniforms and fake identities to conceal their true origin. North Korea is said to have decided to send around 12,000 troops, including special forces, to support Russia in the Ukraine conflict, including around 500 officers and three generals. The North Korean soldiers received their training at the Russian military training areas in Ussuriysk, Ulan-Ude and Knyazhe-Volkonskoye, among other places.

In October 2024, NATO claimed that it had evidence that North Korean soldiers had been sent to Russia. Ukrainian military intelligence HUR, claimed that the first North Korean soldiers arrived in the Russian Kursk Oblast on October 25, 2024. They had previously been trained at several locations in eastern Russia. The coordination and training, which lasts several weeks, is reportedly led by Russia's deputy defense minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov. Russia is providing the soldiers with ammunition, winter clothing, and hygiene products. Employees of the North Korean embassy were also purportedly taken to a training ground. These apparently took on translation tasks and supervised the soldiers during the exercises. It was reported that the soldiers were part of an elite unit. They were transported from Vladivostok to a military airfield in western Russia in Ilyushin Il-76 transport planes and then flown to the combat zone.

They were billeted in barracks about 50 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Nevertheless, the quality of the North Korean troops preparing for deployment in the war in Ukraine has been viewed critically. Ants Kiviselg, the commander of the Estonian Defense Ministry's intelligence center, stated that North Korean soldiers are usually trained to fight in mountainous terrain and have no experience of operating in Ukraine. He pointed out that they are unfamiliar with the climatic conditions and geography on the ground. He also claimed that the quality of their training in Russia is not high. Kateryna Stepanenko, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), pointed out that the term "elite" may not apply for North Korean troops. Additionally, numerous sources reported that some of the North Korean soldiers in Russia have become addicted to pornography, stemming from the fact that Russian internet is much less tightly controlled compared to that of their native country. Despite these assessments, there were voices warning against underestimating the North Korean soldiers.

Ukraine informed the UN Security Council that Russia allegedly intended to integrate at least five North Korean brigades, each with 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers, into its armed forces. According to reports from the US Department of Defense, allegedly about 10,000 North Korean soldiers had arrived in the contested border region of Kursk by the end of October 2024. Purportedly among the North Korean units is also Colonel General Kim Yong Bok, the commander of North Korea's special forces and a close confidant of Kim Jong Un.

At a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on 1 November 2024, North Korean foreign minister Choe Son-hui announced that her country would continue to provide military support to Russia until the day of the final victory over Ukraine. In this context, Lavrov underlined the close cooperation between the military and security agencies of the two countries. According to Choe Son-hui, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered unconditional support for Russian forces and civilians in a “holy war” from the very beginning of the conflict. In view of the deployment of North Korean soldiers to support Russia in the Ukraine conflict, Choe Son-hui then met with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 4 November. On 6 November, the Russian Federation Council approved a defense agreement with North Korea. The agreement stipulates that both countries will provide each other with military support in the event of an attack.

South Korean intelligence has allege that North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia will receive a monthly salary of around $2,000. Ahn Chang Il, a former lieutenant in the North Korean army, alleged that North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia saw their participation in the conflict in Ukraine as an opportunity for social advancement and financial improvement for their families. He also emphasized that the North Korean government promised incentives such as joining the Workers' Party of Korea, necessary for advancement in North Korea.

Kursk offensive

Region in the Russian Kursk Oblast, where North Korean soldiers were deployed.

According to a report in the New York Times on November 5, 2024, clashes between Ukrainian and North Korean troops occurred for the first time in the Kursk region of Russia. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyi assessed this development as significant and spoke of a new dimension of global instability. However, the fighting is said to have been limited and corroborating evidence equally so.

In an interview with the South Korean television station KBS, the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Rustem Umierov, claimed that for the first time on skirmishes with North Korean fighters. However, he claim that they were difficult to identify, as they were not only dressed in Russian uniforms, but also purportedly disguised themselves as members of the Buryat ethnic group. Furthermore, he further claimed that the soldiers were fully integrated into the Russian army and operated under Russian command, which further complicated the determination of their actual identity.

International Reactions

Ukraine

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that North Korea is indeed planning to send soldiers to Ukraine to fight alongside the Russian army. He criticized the lack of decisive action by Western allies as a motivation for Russian President Vladimir Putin to continue his “terrorist” actions in the conflict. Zelenskyi stated that North Korea had previously supported Russia in the war against Ukraine. He referred to US intelligence reports that North Korea had supplied Russia with 3 million artillery shells and missiles. Zelenskyi further stated that Russian president Vladimir Putin was avoiding large-scale mobilization in Russia because it could jeopardize his domestic political support. Instead, according to Zelenskyi, Putin sees North Korea as a strategic alternative. The North Korean leadership, in turn, sees this as an opportunity to give their soldiers combat experience in modern warfare. He also stated that Russia intends to use North Korean labor to address the shortage of labor not only in construction but also in military factories. Ukraine's representative to the UN, Serhiy Kyslytsia, warned the Security Council that the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine poses a serious threat to Europe and the Korean Peninsula.

Russia

Russia rejected the accusations of North Korean soldiers as “fake news”. Putin later responded to questions about satellite images that allegedly indicate the presence of North Korean soldiers on Russian territory at a press conference on 24 October 2024, following the BRICS summit in Kazan, saying that "The images are serious. If there are images, then they reflect something.". He also stated that the escalation of the situation in Ukraine was not caused by Russia's actions, but by the US-backed “coup” (Euromaidan) of 2014.

United States

The deployment of North Korean soldiers was seen as a significant threat to regional and global security by several international actors. US defense secretary Lloyd Austin expressed concern about the possible consequences of the deployment. The United States announced that it would take decisive action in response to North Korea's alleged military support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict. US secretary of state Antony Blinken said that North Korea could expect a “tough response” for the involvement of its troops in the fighting. He made the comments during a joint appearance with the NATO Secretary General in Brussels.

NATO

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned of the geopolitical risks that could arise from increased military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, pointing out that this could further destabilize the dynamics of the war. On 28 October 2024, he spoke of a “significant escalation” in the Ukraine conflict due to the stationing of North Korean troops in the Kursk region. He said that the cooperation between Russia and North Korea endangers security in both the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic area and further intensifies the war dynamic.

United Nations

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a possible internationalization of the war.

Germany

During her trip to Kyiv on 4 November 2024, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized that North Korea's military assistance to Russia was significantly exacerbating the situation, while President Putin continued to pursue a war of attrition to demoralize the population.

See also

• North Korea–Russia relations