South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said on Thursday that North Korea has sent additional troops to Russia to fight in the war with Ukraine. That announcement comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed in January that Ukrainian special forces captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, a revelation that offered the first concrete proof of North Korean fighters’ involvement in the conflict.
According to Ukraine’s Security Service, the two captured soldiers—a sniper and a rifleman—joined North Korea’s military in 2016 and 2021. Both reportedly stated during interrogations that they were sent to Russia under the pretense of participating in military exercises.
In December, Zelenskyy alleged that North Korean forces had sustained significant losses in Kursk, with around 3,000 soldiers either killed or wounded.
South Korean intelligence estimates suggest that between 11,000 and 15,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to the front since last fall. That figure doesn’t include the most recent group of North Koreans deployed, whose numbers Seoul is still trying to determine.
Until January, most of the evidence pointing to the presence of North Korean soldiers has surfaced via Ukrainian-linked Telegram channels. These channels have shared what they claim are letters in Korean found on battlefields and videos showing individuals with Asian features in military trenches.
Neither Russia nor North Korea has issued official responses to the allegations. Although both countries have previously avoided confirming reports of North Korean involvement, they have also refrained from explicitly denying it. Ukrainian officials claim that North Korean troops are currently engaged in fighting within parts of the Kursk region that remain under Ukrainian control.
Fyodor Tertitskiy, a leading researcher at Seoul’s Kookmin University and an expert on North Korean military history, told The Media Line that fake military IDs found on dead soldiers provided evidence of North Koreans’ involvement in the war.
Ukrainian intelligence asserts that Russia has issued fake military IDs to North Korean soldiers using the names of ethnic Tuvans. “The North Koreans simply wrote their names in Korean characters below the Russian names of supposed ethnic Tuvans,” Tertitskiy said. “Ukrainian forces found these IDs on corpses, and the Korean script provided the first clear evidence.”
Men serve for seven to eight years, and women can be conscripted as well. Their army is enormous, over 1 million strong, larger than Russia’s armed forces.
Tertitskiy described North Korea’s conscription system as “extreme.” “Men serve for seven to eight years, and women can be conscripted as well,” he said. “Their army is enormous, over 1 million strong, larger than Russia’s armed forces.”
The troops sent abroad include paratroopers, assault troops, and various types of special forces, Tertitskiy said. “They receive real training and are expected to be combat-ready. However, despite the size and training, North Korea’s army is largely inexperienced in real combat,” he explained.
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Military analyst David Sharp similarly told The Media Line that the North Korean troops don’t appear to be performing well in modern warfare. “They seem to act in a rigid, predictable manner and suffer heavy casualties as a result,” he said. “Ukrainian forces do not seem to rate their performance highly, noting that they often engage in frontal assaults with high casualty rates.”
“Despite this, there have been instances where they advanced and held positions despite heavy losses. That’s why they were brought in—to achieve tactical objectives at any cost,” Sharp added.
He said that North Korean troops are used foremost as foot soldiers and secondarily as operators of North Korean weapons systems, such as guided missile systems.
One key flaw in North Korea’s military system, Tertitskiy said, is that political officers can override orders given by military officers. “Imagine a battalion commander giving an order to fire, but the soldiers have to wait for the political officer’s approval before acting. In combat, such delays can be disastrous,” he said.
Tertitskiy said he had not seen any evidence to suggest that North Korean troops have been fully integrated into the Russian chain of command. “For that to happen, they would need to modify their internal regulations and temporarily adopt Russian military protocols,” he said.
Some have suggested that the North Koreans might serve a role similar to elite assault troops of the Wagner Group private military company. “But from what I’ve seen, these are people who are considered elite only in comparison to the poorly trained conscripts back home,” Tertitskiy said. “They may know how to shoot, but they have no real combat experience and are likely suffering heavy casualties.”
Raising the issue of language barriers, Tertitskiy recounted a conversation he had with a North Korean officer who had trained in the Soviet Union. “He told me that while they didn’t know Russian well, they quickly picked up basic phrases like ‘Hello, comrade lieutenant,’” he said. “Training likely focuses more on visuals and practical drills than on language skills.”
He noted that only high-ranking officers receive formal education abroad, leaving most soldiers with minimal language proficiency.
When asked how the presence of North Korean soldiers might affect the battlefield dynamics, he opted for a measured response. “So far, their impact seems minimal,” he said.
While the impact on the battlefield might be minor, the geopolitical ramifications are not. Tertitskiy described the presence of North Korean soldiers on the front as “a breakthrough in relations with Russia” for Pyongyang.
“Since the 1990s, after the Soviet Union collapsed, North Korea received little to no economic support from Moscow. Now, with Russia needing ammunition and soldiers, Kim Jong Un has an opportunity to strengthen ties,” he explained.
The soldiers sent there are victims. They were forced into this situation and probably didn’t even fully understand they were being sent to fight in a war.
Ordinary North Korean soldiers likely had no say in their deployment to Europe, Tertitskiy said. “The soldiers sent there are victims. They were forced into this situation and probably didn’t even fully understand they were being sent to fight in a war,” he said.
“I hope the captured soldiers might eventually end up in South Korea, where they could share their stories,” Tertitskiy continued.
Sharp said that Russia’s objectives in involving North Korean troops are straightforward. “They need soldiers,” he said. “Russia, on the one hand, prefers not to go for large-scale mobilization because it is a problematic move from military, economic, political, and social perspectives. Therefore, they simply need people. To get these people, they are willing to pay huge sums to contract soldiers, recruit convicts, detainees, and even mercenaries from third-world countries, including poorly trained ones.”
Compared to those sorts of recruits, North Korean soldiers are relatively well trained. “They might not be fully adapted to modern warfare, but they are trained personnel,” Sharp said. “If the cost of acquiring them isn’t too high, Russia sees it as worthwhile. Every soldier counts, and that’s Russia’s main goal—to increase their numbers.”
Tertitskiy said that North Korean commanders prioritize keeping their soldiers away from the general Russian population. “If they see the higher living standards and freedoms in Russia, it could lead to ‘wrong ideas’ about their own regime,” he said.
North Korean media accessible outside of the country has similarly avoided mentioning the deployment of soldiers to Ukraine. “This suggests a deliberate effort to keep the deployment secret,” Tertitskiy said. “They are likely being isolated not just from Russian society but also from their own countrymen to prevent any unwanted leaks or morale issues.”
He highlighted reports suggesting that North Korean commanders have strict orders to prevent their soldiers from being captured. “There are claims that heavily wounded soldiers are executed, and those surrounded are encouraged to commit suicide rather than be taken prisoner. This aligns with North Korea’s long-standing doctrine of avoiding capture at all costs,” he said, adding that while these reports require further verification, they are consistent with known North Korean policies.
Sharp said North Koreans will influence the overall dynamics of the war only if they are deployed in significant numbers across multiple areas of the front.
If several thousand Koreans are engaged simultaneously in a fairly large section of the Kursk front, they can become a significant factor. By holding that section, they free up Russian forces to be used elsewhere, potentially creating numerical advantages in other areas
“For example, if several thousand Koreans are engaged simultaneously in a fairly large section of the Kursk front, they can become a significant factor,” he said. “By holding that section, they free up Russian forces to be used elsewhere, potentially creating numerical advantages in other areas.”
He said that Ukraine ought to keep publicizing the involvement of North Korean soldiers. “Presenting captured soldiers, their records, and diaries, as well as emphasizing North Korean rocket debris, especially in the context of civilian casualties, could be effective,” he said. “This way, Ukraine can gain more international support.”