North Korea intends to triple the number of its troops fighting on Russiaʼs side and send an additional 25 000 to 30 000 soldiers to help Moscow. They could arrive "in the coming months".
CNN writes about this, citing an assessment by Ukrainian intelligence.
The Russian Defense Ministry is able to provide the soldiers with “the necessary equipment, weapons, and ammunition” for “further integration into Russian combat units”. Ukrainian intelligence believes there is a “high probability” that North Korean troops will be involved in hostilities in Russian-occupied Ukraine to reinforce the Russian contingent, particularly during large-scale offensive operations.
There are also signs that Russia is re-equipping military aircraft to transport personnel, suggesting that the army has the massive task of transporting tens of thousands of foreign troops across Russian Siberia, which borders North Korea in the far southwest.
CNN has obtained satellite images showing possible preparations for a new arms transfer: a ship used in last yearʼs deliveries has arrived at a Russian port, and a cargo plane has arrived at North Koreaʼs Sunan airport.
Last year, a Russian Ropucha-class amphibious assault ship arrived at the port of Dunay, 95 kilometers southwest of Nakhodka. Analysts believe it could have carried up to 400 troops. According to satellite images obtained by CNN from the Centre for Open Source Data, a British-based nonprofit organization that focuses on defense and security analytics, the same Ropucha arrived at the port again on May 18.
The flight pattern could also indicate a new troop transfer. The Open Data Center provided CNN with satellite images from North Koreaʼs Sunan Airport on June 4 showing cargo planes, likely Il-76s, moving along the runway. The same planes were used last year to transfer troops. While the exact purpose of the planes and ship is unknown, analysts say the current movements resemble those of last year.
Jenny Town, a senior fellow and director of the Korea Program at the Stimson Center, said the Ukrainian estimate of 30,000 soldiers sounds “overstated […] but they can definitely put a number on it, they won’t be elite soldiers”. In her opinion, an estimate of 10 000 to 20 000 is “more realistic”, and North Korea could deploy troops in stages.
"There are rumors that Russian generals are already in North Korea and training troops there," she said.
Meanwhile, South Koreaʼs National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers in Seoul that North Korea has begun selecting personnel for overseas deployment, which could take place as early as July or August.
The Union of Russia and the DPRK
Russia is using North Korean soldiers in the war with Ukraine — the first of them arrived at the front in October 2024, when it was about 12 thousand people. And in March 2025, North Korea sent another 3 thousand soldiers.
Initially, both sides denied this, but on April 26 of this year, Russia officially acknowledged for the first time the participation of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine. Two days later, North Korea confirmed that its troops were participating in Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, including fighting on the Kursk Bulge.
South Korean lawmakers, citing intelligence, stated that as of April, out of 15 000 fighters, the DPRK had lost approximately 4 700, of whom 600 were killed.
In addition to manpower, the DPRK provides Russia with weapons. As early as January 4, 2024, Western media wrote that Russia had received a batch of ballistic missiles from the DPRK (several dozen) and launchers for them. On the same day, the US officially stated that Russia had short-range ballistic missiles from the DPRK and had launched them over Ukraine.
The head of the GUR Kyrylo Budanov said in January 2025 that North Korea plans to send another 150 ballistic missiles to Russia this year.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won Sik said in an interview with Bloomberg on June 14 that North Korea had sent containers to Russia that could hold nearly 5 million artillery shells, but Moscow needed more.
In April, Reuters reported that North Korea had transferred up to 6 million shells to Russia. Without them, Russia would not have been able to wage war so actively. At some points last year, the majority of the shells used by individual Russian units were North Korean. In some places, it was 100%. The publication noted that this was Russiaʼs most significant direct military assistance in the war.
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