North Korea Pledges Further Military Support to Russia: Why Pyongyang’s Backing is Increasingly Vital

During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, 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,” the chairman stated at the time. President Putin stated 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,” the Russian president informed Chairman Kim, thanking him on behalf of the Russian nation for his country’s support in the “joint fight against modern neo-Nazism.” Russian government sources have consistently alleged that the Ukrainian state is governed under a Neo-Nazi ideology, although this has been strongly disputed by Kiev’s supporters in the Western world.

North Korean armaments have come to be relied on very heavily by the Russian Armed Forces, with the Korean People’s Army’s artillery forces being several times as large allowing it by some estimates to supply more ammunition than the Russian defence sector is itself able to. 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 the East Asian state. These supplies have been supplemented by the dispatch of Korean People’s Army artillery units, including 170mm self-propelled artillery, to support the Russian Army on the frontlines from late 2024. 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. Neither Russia’s defence sector, nor the Western defence sectors supplying Ukraine, produce guns with comparable calibres and ranges.

North Korean defence exports to Russia have become increasingly diverse, including anti-tank guided missiles with fire and forget capabilities not seen on their Russian counterparts, and tactical ballistic missiles with ranges and payloads exceeding those produced in Russia. Alongside personnel contributions and very large scale arms exports, North Korea has also provided support both for the Russian defence sector and for reconstruction efforts. At the Alabuga Factory where Russian production of Geran-2 drones has been rapidly expanded, reports emerged in June that 25,000 North Korean industrial workers were being dispatched to help increase output. The country’s sizeable industrial workforce with high levels of technical education fuelled expectations that this kind of support would be highly prized. In June 2025 Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu confirmed 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. North Korean involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian War war effort is expected to continue to expand, with reports in mid-August indicating that new Korean Chonma-2 main battle tanks could be dispatched to take part in hostilities.