The official added that North Korea has already supplied 40 missiles, at least two of which were used in a strike against Ukraine last week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously warned that Moscow was preparing infrastructure in Voronezh to receive up to 30,000 North Korean troops.

Analysts say Pyongyang is receiving oil, hard currency, military technology and battlefield experience in return for supplying troops and weapons to Moscow.

Thousands of North Korean troops fought in Kursk

Estimates by Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence indicate that North Korea sent between 14,000 and 15,000 soldiers to Russia’s Kursk region in 2024 to help repel a Ukrainian ground incursion. Both Moscow and Pyongyang confirmed in April 2025 that North Korean forces had engaged in active combat.

Around 9,500 North Korean troops remain in Kursk, though they are not currently involved in direct operations, according to Ukrainian officials. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu also stated in June 2025 that North Korea would send 1,000 sappers and 5,000 military construction workers for demining and rebuilding work.

Additionally, South Korean intelligence reported that Pyongyang has begun recruiting personnel for further deployments while continuing to supply artillery ammunition and missiles in exchange for economic and technical support from Moscow.

North Korea has become one of Russia’s biggest arms suppliers

North Korea has emerged as a major arms supplier for Russia, delivering millions of artillery shells, mortar rounds, and ballistic missiles. Ukrainian intelligence estimates that Pyongyang delivered 4 million artillery shells since mid-2023, fulfilling roughly half of Russia’s front-line ammunition requirements.

By early 2025, North Korea had also supplied 148 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles. An analysis by Reuters and the Open Source Centre revealed that four Russian cargo vessels made 64 trips between North Korea’s Rajin port and Russian ports between September 2023 and March 2025, moving nearly 16,000 containers of ammunition.

Why Pyongyang is backing Moscow

The military alignment follows a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June 2024, which includes a mutual defence clause. Kim later defended the deployment as an exercise of sovereign rights to support a partner country.

In return, analysts say Pyongyang gains hard currency, oil, and access to advanced Russian military technology. The deployment also offers North Korean forces real-world experience in drone warfare, electronic warfare, and modern combat tactics.

The United States, NATO, and their allies have condemned the military cooperation, stating that troop deployments and arms transfers violate United Nations Security Council sanctions imposed on North Korea since 2006. Both Washington and Seoul have imposed sanctions on entities linked to the alliance.

(With inputs from Reuters)