Kim Jong Un Reportedly Mulling Additional Deployment of 50,000 North Korean Troops to Russia

4,500 Troops Lost in the Battle of Kursk
Troop Dispatches Account for a Third of North Korea's GDP

North Korea is reportedly considering additional troop deployments to the Russia-Ukraine war.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yonhap News.

According to the BBC on the 13th (local time), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that "up to 50,000 North Korean troops could be deployed." The report added that despite suffering massive casualties, North Korea is gaining economic and military benefits through its cooperation with Russia, making it highly likely that Pyongyang will carry out additional deployments.

Previously, at the end of 2024, North Korea sent about 13,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region. This deployment to Kursk marked the largest overseas combat force North Korea has ever dispatched.

The North Korean troops dispatched to Russia came from the elite Storm Corps. The Ukrainian military engaged in combat with North Korean forces in November 2024, and in January of the following year, a North Korean prisoner of war was captured for the first time. North Korea and Russia officially acknowledged the troop deployment in April 2025.

According to Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency (HUR), it is estimated that among those deployed, 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 1,500 wounded. HUR estimates that around 8,500 North Korean troops remain on Russian territory.

In a statement to the BBC, HUR said, "They are currently not participating in active combat operations" and added, "There have been no confirmed sightings of North Korean units operating in temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine."

The Korean Central News Agency reported that North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un attended the 80th anniversary celebration of China's Victory Day held in Beijing on September 3, 2025. Yonhap News Agency.

Im Sooho, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy, estimated that North Korea has earned around 10 billion dollars (approximately 13.4 trillion won) from weapons sales and troop dispatches to Russia.

Given that North Korea's annual gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at around 30 billion dollars, weapons exports and troop dispatches have accounted for a third of its annual GDP.

Cooperation with Russia has also helped North Korea reduce its long-term dependence on China. In September of last year, Kim Jong Un stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, signaling strengthening ties with Russia and a move away from a China-dependent foreign policy. This occasion marked the first public meeting of the three leaders.

The BBC assessed that North Korea has gained significant economic and political value by sending troops, while Russia, faced with manpower shortages, needs North Korean soldiers, making further deployments likely.

It has been four and a half years since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Moscow now faces a severe shortage of troops. In response, Russia is reportedly relying on foreign fighters from countries such as Colombia, Kenya, Cameroon, and North Korea to fill the gap. The BBC analyzed, "North Korea and Russia can be seen as an alliance of mutual benefit," and concluded, "Ultimately, North Korea is likely to continue sending troops to Russia's war, but only as long as the rewards are sufficiently advantageous."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.