North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine are gaining valuable battlefield experience that risks making Pyongyang a more dangerous military opponent for both South Korea and the United States, a U.S. commander has warned.
The warning comes as thousands of North Korean soldiers continue fighting alongside Russian soldiers in Ukraine, exposing them to modern drones and electronic warfare systems and giving them valuable battlefield experience that the country’s military otherwise wouldn’t have had.
North Korea Artillery. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
According to an October 27 report from Axios, Lt. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army in South Korea, warned that North Korean forces are returning home with experience from a conflict that is redefining how modern wars are fought.
Meanwhile, American and South Korean defense officials are expressing their concerns more generally about military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, with reports indicating that North Korea is receiving Russian military technology in exchange for supplying troops and weapons.
North Korean Soldiers Bring New Experience Home
Speaking to reporters in Washington earlier this month, Hilbert said North Korea will be paying close attention to battlefield technological changes, including the growing importance of unmanned systems and aerial drones.
“As we all are observing and watching how war is changing in Ukraine and in the Middle East, the North Koreans are, absolutely, doing that too,” he said.
On cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, he said:
“I won’t get into the specifics of what the relationship looks like between Russia and the DPRK — but there’s obvious cooperation there.”
The comments are supported by research from the Institute for the Study of War, which identified evidence in August of North Korean personnel operating reconnaissance and first-person-view drones alongside Russian troops fighting in the Kursk region.
That experience could let North Korean commanders, who have little to no battlefield experience, introduce new tactics developed during the war into their own military training programs.
Thousands of North Korean Troops Fighting In Ukraine
North Korea’s involvement in the war is no secret at this point, with both Moscow and Pyongyang having already confirmed that troops and weapons are being supplied to Russia.
M2020 Tank from North Korea. Image Credit: KCNA/North Korea State Media.
And North Korea’s involvement in the conflict has grown significantly since its first major deployment of troops in October 2024.
According to South Korean intelligence estimates cited by Axios, more than 16,000 North Korean personnel have been sent to fight with the Russians since then — although some earlier estimates put the number somewhere between 14,000 and 15,000.
The deployments have also resulted in large numbers of casualties. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service estimated in February this year that approximately 6,000 North Korean soldiers had been wounded or killed in the war.
Despite the losses, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on September 28 that Pyongyang was preparing to send another 10,000 personnel to serve with Russian forces, with more than 8,000 already believed to be stationed in Russia.
Zelenskyy has also suggested that North Korea may eventually provide as many as 50,000 troops to support Moscow’s efforts.
Russia Gives North Korea Advanced Military Tech
North Korea is not assisting Russia for free.
In return for supplying troops and weapons, North Korea has reportedly received various forms of advanced Russian military technology that would help its military fight a future war.
Analysts have noted transfers including air defense equipment and electronic warfare systems.
According to a May 2025 report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group of countries that actively monitors sanctions enforcement against North Korea, Russia transferred at least one Pantsir mobile air defense system to North Korea, along with a Pantsir-class combat vehicle.
The report also identified electronic warfare equipment among the assistance being provided in exchange for troops.
More recently, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, confirmed at a Washington event on October 13 that North Korea had received Russian-built jamming equipment.
“They didn’t have those jammers before,” Brunson said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event. “Those jammers were given to them by the Russians.”
That kind of equipment could allow North Korea to interfere with satellite navigation and communications networks, and potentially precision-guided weapons.
Analysts say military cooperation between the two countries dates back to at least 2023, when Pyongyang first began supplying Moscow with artillery ammunition.
At the time, Russian forces were struggling to replenish stockpiles that were being depleted by fighting in Ukraine, and Moscow was grappling with the fact that what should have been a short-term “special military operation” was becoming a full-scale war.
For a heavily sanctioned country such as North Korea, that cooperation now provides a hugely valuable opportunity to modernize its military in preparation for potential future conflicts.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, and he produces and edits analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
