North Korea Surges Force Deployments in Russia as Over 10,000 Personnel Secure Frontiers with Ukraine

The South Korean National Intelligence Service has reported that the Korean People’s Army, the armed forces of North Korea, have began 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 Ukrainain theatre. The service reported during a closed-door briefing to South Korea’s National Assembly Intelligence Committee on November 4 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. Around 5,000 personnel from North Korean construction units have also deployed to Russia since September, and are supporting with reconstruction in disputed territories claimed by both Moscow and Kiev.

Elaborating on North Korean deployments, the National Intelligence Service further reported that the Korean People’s Army has been maintaining training programs and personnel selection specifically in anticipation of dispatching further personnel to supporting eh Russian war effort. It also highlighted the frequent visits being made to Russia by senior North Korean munitions officials. The increase in North Korean support has been far from unanticipated, with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu having confirmed in June that the Korean People’s Army would dispatch 1000 mine clearance experts and 5000 military engineers to support de-mining and reconstruction efforts in the Kursk region. Reports emerged that month that 5,000 North Korean industrial workers were being dispatched to help increase output at the Alabuga Factory where Russia produces Geran-2 drones.

In early September Chairman of the Korean Workers’ Party Kim Jong Un pledged that his country would provide further support to Moscow as needed. “As I mentioned during our previous meeting, if there is any way we can help Russia, we will certainly do so and consider it our fraternal duty,” he stated at the time. Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin responded by stating that relations between the two countries had taken on a “special, trusting, and friendly character,” specifically highlighting the support provided by the Korean People’s Army in repelling a Ukrainian and Western assault on the Russian Kursk region. “I would like to point out that your soldiers fought courageously and heroically… we will never forget the sacrifices made by your armed forces and the families of your servicemen,” he stated.

The Russian Armed Forces currently rely heavily North Korean armaments, and 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 depend almost entirely on ammunition supplied by the country. Korean People’s Army artillery units have also been deployed to the theatre,including 170mm self-propelled artillery. Commander of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Directorate Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov has particularly singled out the performance of North Korean 170mm self-propelled howitzers, lamenting the serious complications which these guns’ combination of long range and high precision had had for Ukrainian forces. As Russia has faced a growing shortage of main battle tanks, speculation has grown that it could begin to procure North Korean tanks, with General Budanov reporting that there were plans to dispatch new Chonma 2 main battle tanks to equip the Russian Army.