North Korean troop operations have so far been concentrated in Russia’s Kursk region.
By Taejun Kang for RFA
TAIPEI, Taiwan – North Korean forces deployed in Russia’s Kursk region may soon be sent into annexed regions of Ukraine that remain fiercely contested by Russian and Ukrainian forces, a senior Ukrainian official said.
As many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia, according to Ukraine and the United States, to fight Ukrainian forces who occupied parts of Russia’s Kursk region in an August counter offensive. Neither North Korea nor Russia have acknowledged their presence.
“Russia plans to use the DPRK soldiers for war on the territory of Ukraine,” said Andrei Kovalenko, head of the National Security Service’s Center for Countering Disinformation.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea’s official name.
“But the Russians will manipulate and indicate that the North Korean soldiers are fighting on Russian territory by the Russian Constitution,” he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday.
Russia annexed four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – after holding widely condemned referendums in September 2022. Kovalenko suggested that these occupied territories are the most likely destinations for North Korean troops.
The international community has not recognized Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian land and fierce fighting continues as Ukraine pushes back in those areas.
Kovalenko said Russia is also importing labor from North Korea, mainly young people aged 18-25, for industrial work. In return, the North Korean authorities receive US$1,000 per person from Russia.
Radio Free Asia has not independently verified his claims.
South Korea’s main spy agency reported in October that Russia would pay North Korean troops about US$2,000 per month each, although it was likely that most of the money would “remain with the state.”
Kovalenko’s remarks came amid reports that Russian artillery units were relying almost entirely on ammunition supplied by North Korea to sustain their bombardments along the Ukrainian front.
Between September 2023 and March 2025, four Russian-flagged vessels made 64 trips transporting nearly 16,000 containers from North Korea to Russian ports, according to satellite data analysed by the U.K.-based Open Source Centre. The shipments are estimated to have included between 4 million and 6 million artillery shells.
By comparison, Russia is believed to have produced no more than 2.3 million artillery shells domestically in 2024, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.Although the Kremlin denied any arms transfers from North Korea in October 2023, at least six Russian artillery unit reports reviewed by Reuters news agency confirmed that between 50% and 100% of the munitions used in Ukraine this year were of North Korean origin. Three other unit reports made no mention of North Korean ammunition.
North Korea and Russia have been deepening their military and economic ties in recent months, with Pyongyang reportedly supplying Moscow with large quantities of munitions and other military aid for its war in Ukraine.
In return, Russia has provided technological assistance and expanded cooperation in various sectors, fueling concerns over potential arms transfers and security threats.
High-level meetings between officials from both countries, including defense ministers, have signaled a growing strategic partnership.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
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