Why Thousands of North Koreans Are Fighting in Russia

For more than a year, Russia has leaned on its increasingly close ally North Korea for supplies of artillery shells and ballistic missiles to prosecute a grinding war in Ukraine. In October, the partnership entered a new phase as Pyongyang dispatched thousands of soldiers to bolster Russia’s armed forces. Ukrainian and western officials have described their appearance on the battlefield as a major escalation by Moscow. North Korea’s foreign minister promised her country would stick with Russia until “the day of victory.”

While the exact number of North Korean troops fighting in Russia remains unknown, US officials estimate as many as 12,000 have been deployed. These soldiers have been helping Russian forces try to dislodge Kyiv’s soldiers from parts of the Kursk region that Ukraine captured in August in a surprise incursion. The Kremlin provided the North Koreans with fake identity documents to make them appear to be Russians, South Korea’s intelligence service said.