More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are currently stationed near the Russian-Ukrainian border, where they are performing security tasks. This was reported by The Chosun Daily with reference to the National Intelligence Service of South Korea (NIS).
According to intelligence information, more than a thousand engineers from the DPRK have been sent to Russia for demining, and about 5 thousand soldiers are planned to be involved in construction and infrastructure restoration work in the Russian Federation.
“Since September, more than 5,000 construction workers have been sequentially transferred to Russia and are expected to be mobilized to restore infrastructure,” — the NIS reported.
Seoul intelligence notes that North Korea is improving the guidance systems and accuracy of its missiles with the help of Russia.
Recall that in October 2024, South Korean intelligence reported that the DPRK had already sent 1,500 of its special forces to Russia and planned to involve 12,000 soldiers in the war against Ukraine. North Korea rejected this, calling such reports “baseless rumors.”
On October 14, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that North Korea had “actually joined” the war against Ukraine. On October 17, 2024, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kirill Budanov, confirmed that about 11,000 soldiers from the DPRK are preparing to participate in hostilities in Ukraine.
On November 5, 2024, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, reported that the “first clashes” had taken place between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region of Russia.
On December 14, 2024, Volodymyr Zelensky noted that there was preliminary data on the use of North Korean soldiers by Russia in assault operations in the Kursk region, and there were already casualties among them.
On January 11, 2025, the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region. Zelensky instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to provide access to the prisoners. South Korea has stated that it is ready to accept captured North Korean soldiers, as it actually recognizes all North Korean citizens as its own.
As of mid-January 2025, about a thousand North Korean soldiers who participated in the war against Ukraine had died in the Kursk region of Russia.
On April 28, 2025, North Korea officially confirmed the participation of its military in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
