Public honors mark North Korea’s open role in Russia’s war against Ukraine: why it matters

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Public honors mark North Korea’s open role in Russia’s war against Ukraine: why it matters

Olha Konsevych

Public honors mark North Korea’s open role in Russia’s war against Ukraine: why it matters

In April 2025, North Korea for the first time officially confirmed the deployment of troops to assist Russia and reported combat-related fatalities among its forces. Recent public statements by Pyongyang, combined with a widening array of weapons transfers and troop deployments, suggest that this partnership is evolving from covert assistance to a formalized military cooperation – with profound implications for global security.

At a December 2025 ceremony in Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un publicly welcomed back the 528th Engineer Regiment after a 120-day deployment in Russia’s Kursk region. Pyongyang’s state media hailed the unit’s mine-clearing efforts, honoring nine soldiers who died with posthumous awards.

The figure Kim cited – nine – should not be taken at face value. It refers to a single, named unit and a defined mission, not to the totality of North Korea’s involvement.

Formal alignment as a signal to West

In October 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had received information indicating that Russia was preparing two units composed of North Korean troops, each numbering around 6,000 personnel. As of January, Zelenskyy reported that 4,000 North Korean soldiers had been neutralized in Russia’s Kursk region.

Ukrainian servicemen reported that DPRK soldiers were unwilling to surrender. Instead, they either evacuated their wounded comrades or took their own lives when capture appeared imminent.

Moreover, North Korean munitions have become one of the pillars sustaining Russia’s artillery.

A joint investigation by Reuters and the Open Source Centre (OSC), published in April 2025, documented 64 shipments over a 20-month period transporting nearly 16,000 containers from North Korea to Russia. The cargo, according to the investigation, likely included millions of artillery shells.

“North Korea currently supplies up to 40 % of ammunition that Russia uses in its war against Ukraine,” Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence, said in an interview with Bloomberg, emphasizing Pyongyang’s significant role in sustaining Russian firepower.

Ukrainian officials toldReuters that North Korea supplies roughly half of Russia’s ammunition needs at the front. One Ukrainian military expert put the figure even higher, estimating up to 70 percent.

According to a report by theMultilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, an intergovernmental mechanism established to track violations of United Nations sanctions on North Korea, arms transfers and related military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia – including unlawful arms transfers and training – directly contravene multiple UNSC resolutions.

Hugh Griffiths, former coordinator of the UN panel monitoring sanctions on North Korea, was blunt in his assessment: “North Korea’s contribution has been strategically vital.”

Benefits for North Korea – but how useful is it for Russia?

“Despite the obvious threat posed by Pyongyang, cooperation between Russia and North Korea has not become a unifying factor for strengthening the partnership between Ukraine and South Korea. In Seoul, there are two opposing political approaches to how to respond to North Korea’s actions, and this constrains the possibility of providing Ukraine with defensive support,” Nataliya Butyrska, Associate Senior Fellow at the New Europe Center, noted during an expert discussion at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center.

At the same time, she emphasized that North Korea is already deriving tangible military benefits from its engagement with Russia. According to the analyst, Pyongyang is significantly modernizing its armed forces through access to Russian technologies, financial resources, and military expertise. In addition, North Korean troops are gaining direct combat experience through involvement in hostilities, further enhancing their operational capabilities.

At the same time, according to an analysis published by The Strategist, Russia appears to gain less from the arrangement than North Korea. The limited effectiveness of North Korean troops contrasts with the scale of benefits Pyongyang receives, highlighting an asymmetric partnership. Moscow’s willingness to transfer sensitive technologies reflects a broader strategic shift that may have lasting implications beyond the war in Ukraine, particularly by enabling North Korea to emerge from the conflict more militarily capable and politically emboldened.

Escalating risks to global security

North Korea’s military activities continue to pose broader global security risks that extend far beyond its involvement in cooperation with Russia. According to the Foreign Policy Council Ukrainian Prism, citing data from South Korea’s Defense Intelligence Agency, Pyongyang remains in a state of full readiness to conduct a new nuclear test.

During a closed briefing for South Korean lawmakers, intelligence officials stated that Kim Jong Un’s regime could authorize a nuclear detonation at any moment. By its projected characteristics, such a test would resemble North Korea’s sixth nuclear test carried out in 2017, which marked a significant leap in the country’s nuclear capabilities.

South Korean intelligence also reported ongoing development of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range exceeding 13,000 kilometers, theoretically capable of striking targets on the continental United States. Moreover, there is a possibility that Pyongyang may attempt an ICBM launch using a standard ballistic trajectory, rather than the lofted-angle launches it has relied on in recent years. Such a move would represent a more direct demonstration of operational confidence in its missile technology.

Another area of concern is North Korea’s renewed focus on space capabilities. Analysts report active preparations for the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite. Following a failed attempt in May last year, experts suggest that Pyongyang may now be receiving technical assistance from Russia, which could significantly accelerate the project’s implementation.

Olha Konsevych: Journalist, researcher | Vital Voices | GMF | WZB Berlin | Max Planck Society alumna || Mahabahu Correspondent

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