Kyiv —
A senior Ukrainian intelligence official said the new North Korean military presence in Russia has already reached 8,500 troops, including a squadron of drones that could attack targets in Ukraine.
North Korea, which signed a NATO-style mutual defense pact with Russia two years ago, has been sending troops to support Russia’s military operations since late 2024 and could be asked to contribute up to $50,000 more when President Vladimir Putin meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in September, according to Major General Vadim Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Service.
The move marks a significant expansion of military cooperation between Moscow and North Korea and comes at a time when Ukraine severely lacks air defenses. This is another sign that Russia’s resources are scarce and it welcomes aid, despite official statements about Russia’s economic resilience and military production capabilities.
Skibitsky said the North Korean troops already deployed are mainly in Russia’s Kursk region and include 1,000 engineers and mine clearing workers. They also consist of 400 drone operators, many of whom have experience in deployments or previous deployments to North Korea, and their drones are likely to be used both to survey and attack targets inside Ukraine.
Deepening ties between North Korea and Russia have worried many in the NATO alliance, especially after President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would scale back military exercises with South Korea to avoid antagonizing Kim Jong Un, the reclusive North Korean leader whom Trump is eager to reunite with.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim’s powerful sister, denied claims that tens of thousands of more North Koreans would soon join Russia’s efforts, calling it a “baseless and self-made scenario.”
Skibitsky said Ukrainian intelligence has indicated that the North Korean forces sent to Russia will not fight on Ukrainian territory, but will strengthen Russia’s rear positions and allow Russian forces to focus on attacks inside Ukraine.
Ukraine first warned last October that North Korean forces were using attack drones on its territory, but this is the first indication that a new wave of troops has this capability. Skibitsky added that Putin is likely to request more troops, and that about 25,000 North Koreans have been deployed or rotated into the Russian military so far.
The first North Korean deployment began in October 2024 in the Kursk region to repel a Ukrainian military invasion. This is the first time it has been carried out on Russian territory since the Nazis. North Korea remained silent for months about its initial troop deployment to support Russia’s war machine, only confirming that soldiers were fighting Ukraine in April 2025. An estimated 10,000 North Koreans were dispatched, using suicidal tactics to rush into Ukrainian positions en masse, inflicting heavy casualties.
North Korea’s willingness to accept such a loss reflects the scope of Russia’s global alliances and the Kremlin’s need for additional human resources. Wounded soldiers returning to North Korea were able to teach their colleagues about drone warfare and the new realities of the technologically dominated front.
To emphasize the strength of ties between the two countries, Russian state media has shown footage of North Korean troops training in Russia over the past year, and Kim Jong Un inaugurated a memorial to North Korea’s Ukrainian dead in April.
Skibitsky also highlighted the extent to which North Korea is assisting Russia with missile technology for attacks.
He said at least 150 KN23 or KN24 ballistic missiles had been sent by North Korea for use inside Ukraine before last August, and another 120 were promised. Such weapons are proving increasingly difficult for Kyiv to shoot down, with the supply of US Patriot interceptor missiles, one of the few systems capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
Skibitsky said 40 of the guns were delivered, two of which are suspected of being used in an attack on July 30 in Radushne, Dnipro region, in which at least four children from the same family were killed.
He said about 90 people were being sent to Voronze to support the missile launch, and 10 large cargo flights possibly carrying missiles from North Korea would land at the Baltimore Airport in the Voronze area.
Skibitsky said more modern versions of the missile had a longer range of 800km, but often landed 15 to 19km away from the target. He said North Korea is using launches into Ukraine to improve targeting and payload.
Skibitsky said North Korea is requesting Russia’s S400 air defense system in exchange for providing manpower and ammunition to Russia, and has already received the Pantsir-1 surface-to-air missile launcher.
