Military Watch Magazine – July 27, 2026

North Korea is reported to be preparing to send as many as 30,000 additional personnel to Russia, which would represent by far the largest foreign deployment in the history of the Korean People’s Army, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. If confirmed, the deployment would likely provide North Korean forces with experience in a major modern ground war on a scale which few other countries can match, which would have significant implications for the balance of power both in East Asia and in Europe. President Zelensky stated that Russia was preparing to receive the additional personnel in the Voronezh region, with preparations reportedly underway since June. He further alleged that North Korea was preparing to supply additional ballistic missile launchers.

In November 2025 the South Korean National Intelligence Service reported that the Korean People’s Army had begun transferring thousands of additional military personnel to Russia, with these forces appearing poised to provide support for the ongoing Russian-led war effort in the Ukrainian theatre. The service reported that nearly 10,000 North Korean personnel are already stationed near the Russian–Ukrainian border for guard duties, while an additional 1,000 combat engineers are providing support with mine clearance operations. North Korea’s active participation in the war effort appears to have resulted in its forces not only being given intelligence on NATO equipment, but also given direct access.

Beyond personnel contributions, reports emerged in 2025 that 5,000 North Korean industrial workers were being dispatched to help increase output at the Alabuga Factory where Russia produces Geran-2 drones. North Korean armaments have also been supplied in vast quantities, and are prized not only for their often highly advanced capabilities, but also for the large numbers available. The country was by the end of 2024 estimated to have dispatched over 6 million artillery rounds to Russia. The country’s value as a supplier stems from the fact that its pre-war active peacetime forces far outnumbered Russia’s own in many areas, with its artillery forces in particular being several times as large. Some equipment such as 170mm mobile howitzers and Bulsae-4 anti tank missile system appear to have been particularly highly prized.

Russian sources indicate that North Korean personnel contributions are prized for their particularly high training standards, which compare favourably not only to Ukraine’s predominantly conscript force, but also to Russian Army units. High training standards have repeatedly been demonstrated across multiple conflicts, from the early stages of the Korean War with the Korean People’s Army forced the U.S. Armed Forces into three months of retreats, to the Syrian War when special forces were reported to have been deployed on a small scale to support counterinsurgency efforts. Although NATO members’ forces, such as U.S. Forward Observation Group personnel, played key roles in supporting the assault on Kursk, and in other key operations, it remains uncertain whether and to what extent they engaged North Korean forces.

By the second quarter of 2025, nearly half of artillery rounds used by the Russian Army were of North Korean origin, with many Russian artillery units having come to rely almost entirely on ammunition supplied by North Korea. By then, at least six Russian Army artillery units sourced between 50 and 100 percent of their munitions from the country. These supplies have been supplemented by the dispatch of Korean People’s Army units, including 170mm self-propelled artillery, to support the Russian Army on the frontlines from late 2024. Analysts have widely assessed that it is likely Russia will attempt to partly cover the costs of defence procurements from North Korea by marketing its fighter aircraft to the country, including the new Su-57 fifth generation fighter, as well as by supporting the country’s nuclear submarine program. Manned combat aviation remains one of the few areas where North Korea’s defence sector is not capable of meeting its forces’ needs.

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