The new wave of North Korean troops, whose number in Russia has already reached 8,500, includes a drone unit that may attack targets in Ukraine. This was reported by a high-ranking Ukrainian intelligence official, UNN reports, citing CNN.
Details
North Korea, which signed a NATO-style mutual defense pact with Russia two years ago, has been sending troops since late 2024 to assist Moscow’s military operations. According to Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, it may be asked to provide up to 50,000 more servicemen during President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with his counterpart Kim Jong Un in September.
The outlet notes that such a move would mark a significant expansion of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, taking place amid an acute shortage of air defense systems in Ukraine. This is another sign that Russia’s resources are limited and that it is ready to accept assistance despite public statements about its economic resilience and military-industrial capacity.
Skibitskyi said that the North Korean troops already deployed are spread mostly across Russia’s Kursk region and include 1,000 engineers and sappers. They also include 400 drone operators, many of whom gained experience either during or as a result of previous North Korean deployments, and whose drones will likely be used both for reconnaissance and to attack targets in Ukraine.
The media outlet notes that North Korea’s deepening ties with Russia concern many NATO alliance members, especially after President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that military exercises with South Korea would be scaled back so as not to provoke hostility from Kim Jong Un — the reclusive North Korean leader whom Trump seeks to meet again.
Earlier, Kim’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, denied claims that tens of thousands of North Koreans would soon join Russia’s efforts, calling them a "groundless self-invented scenario."
In addition
Ukrainian intelligence believes that the North Korean troops sent to Russia will not fight on Ukrainian territory, Skibitskyi said, but will reinforce Russia’s rear positions, freeing Russian troops for attacks inside Ukraine.
Although Ukraine first warned that North Korean troops were using attack drones on its territory last October, this is the first indication that the new wave of troops will have this capability. In addition to Putin’s likely request for more troops, approximately 25,000 North Koreans have already been deployed or rotated through Russia’s armed forces, Skibitskyi added.
Context
The first North Korean deployment began in the Kursk region in October 2024 to repel Ukraine’s incursion, the first on Russian soil since the Nazis. North Korea remained silent for months about its initial deployment of troops to assist Russia’s war machine and confirmed that its soldiers were fighting against Ukraine only in April 2025. An estimated 10,000 North Koreans were deployed and suffered significant losses, using suicidal tactics to conduct mass assaults on Ukrainian positions.
The media outlet notes that North Korea’s willingness to sustain such losses reflects the scale of Russia’s global alliances and Moscow’s need for additional manpower. The wounded returned to North Korea, where they were able to teach their colleagues how to use drones and about the new reality of technologically dominated front lines.
Underscoring the strength of ties between the two countries, Russian state media over the past year showed photographs of North Korean troops training in Russia, while Kim Jong Un opened a memorial to North Koreans killed in Ukraine in April.