Summary and Key Points: Four years into a war the Kremlin expected to win in weeks, Russia is leaning on North Korean soldiers to keep fighting.
-British intelligence says nearly 500,000 Russian troops have been killed, and rather than risk another mobilization, Putin has imported roughly 14,000–15,000 North Koreans — about 6,000 already killed or wounded around Kursk.
North Korea Soldiers. Image Credit: KCNA/North Korean State Media.
-In return, Kim Jong Un gets cash, fuel, satellite technology, and battlefield data, while shipping an estimated 15 million artillery shells to Russia.
Russia Is Sending North Korean Soldiers to a Horrible Fate in the Ukraine War
Four years after launching what the Kremlin believed would be a weekslong “special military operation” in Ukraine, Russia is now relying on North Korean soldiers to help sustain the war effort.
Reports continue to prove that thousands of North Korean soldiers are fighting against the Ukrainians, signifying the scale of the problem for the Kremlin but also demonstrating a growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.
North Korean troops have not only fought alongside Russian forces, but thousands have reportedly been killed or wounded, and Pyongyang has become one of Moscow’s most important suppliers of artillery ammunition and military equipment.
Russia’s Manpower Problem Keeps Growing
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in Vladivostok, Russia April 25, 2019.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, it did so with one of the world’s largest militaries. Years later, however, the war has consumed manpower at a staggering rate. This week, Anne Keast-Butler, director of Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency, said nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the invasion began, with total casualties continuing to rise by tens of thousands each month.
While Russia continues to recruit contract soldiers and offer large signing bonuses, it has avoided another politically risky nationwide mobilization on the scale of the call-up ordered in September 2022. Instead, Moscow has turned to foreign manpower and military support to help make up the gap.
The pressure was particularly visible after Ukraine’s offensive operations inside Russia’s Kursk region, where North Korean troops were later deployed to help Russian forces stabilize parts of the front. The very fact that Russia is importing soldiers from North Korea would have been unthinkable at the beginning of the war. It is a sign of how much manpower the conflict has consumed, and continues to consume.
The Evidence North Koreans Are Fighting
For a long time, Moscow and Pyongyang denied reports that North Korean troops were participating in the war – but that position gradually collapsed under mounting evidence. It is now generally not discussed at all, but has been confirmed by the parties involved.
Ukrainian forces reported encounters with North Korean units, battlefield footage emerged showing suspected North Korean soldiers operating alongside Russian troops, and South Korean intelligence repeatedly briefed lawmakers on deployments and casualties.
By late 2024 and into 2025, estimates suggested roughly 14,000 to 15,000 North Korean personnel had been sent to support Russia’s war effort, primarily in and around the Kursk region.
The casualty figures have been shocking, too. In April 2025, intelligence assessments indicated that around 600 North Korean troops had already been killed and roughly 4,700 had been killed or wounded overall. By early 2026, South Korean intelligence estimates suggested total North Korean casualties had climbed to roughly 6,000 killed or wounded.
Soldiers from a repressive, authoritarian regime, who do not have sufficient training or experience, were and are effectively being used as cannon fodder in a foreign war.
What Kim Jong Un Gets In Return
North Korean troops are not being sent to Russia for ideological loyalty. It is clearly transactional.
In June 2024, Putin visited Pyongyang and signed a mutual defense treaty with Kim Jong Un. Since then, Western and South Korean intelligence agencies have tracked North Korean artillery shells, ballistic missiles, military equipment, and troops being sent to Russia. Moscow, meanwhile, is believed to be providing fuel, food, cash, satellite technology, and military expertise in return.
Technical knowledge may be one of the most significant exchanges so far. North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles have been used against Ukraine, giving Pyongyang a rare opportunity to observe its weapons in combat and refine them using real battlefield data. For Kim, the war offers something his military rarely gets: direct exposure to large-scale modern warfare and access to Russian military technology.
One Of Russia’s Top Wartime Suppliers
North Korea is one of Russia’s most important wartime suppliers of artillery ammunition and conventional weapons. South Korean intelligence reported earlier this year that North Korea had shipped approximately 33,000 containers of military supplies to Russia. According to Defense Intelligence Agency estimates cited by South Korean media, those shipments could contain more than 15 million artillery shells.
The transfers reportedly include artillery ammunition, rocket systems, ballistic missiles, anti-tank weapons, and other military equipment. Some assessments even suggest North Korea may be providing a substantial share of the ammunition Russia uses on parts of the front line.
Expectations for the Future
Perhaps the most important lesson from North Korea’s involvement in the conflict so far is what it says about Russia’s possible expectations for the future. Countries preparing for peace do not spend years building military supply networks and deploying foreign troops, or deepening wartime alliances. Russia and North Korea are expanding their cooperation all the time, and Pyongyang continues sending personnel and equipment – and Moscow keeps accepting it.
It began as ammunition shipments, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that Russia and North Korea are building a deep military partnership. It could indicate that Putin does not expect the war to end any time soon.
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, producing and editing analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at 19FortyFive and National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
