North Korea Sends 8,500 More Personnel to Russia, Including Drone Operators, Ukraine Says

A new wave of North Korean troops now stationed in Russia, totaling 8,500, includes a drone unit capable of striking targets inside Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official said this week.

Major General Vadym Skibitskiy, deputy head of Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, said North Korea has been sending troops to assist Moscow’s military operations since late 2024 under a mutual defense pact the two countries signed two years ago, and may be asked to contribute up to 50,000 more personnel when Russian President Vladimir Putin meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in September. Such an expansion would mark a significant deepening of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang and comes as Ukraine faces a shortage of air defenses.

Skibitskiy characterized the development as further evidence that Russia’s military resources remain stretched despite the Kremlin’s public statements about its economic resilience and industrial capacity. He said North Korea had sent at least 150 KN-23 or KN-24 ballistic missiles for use inside Ukraine before August of last year, with another 120 promised, and that 40 of those missiles have since been delivered, with two suspected in a July 30 attack on Radushne, in Ukraine’s Dnipro region, that killed at least four children from the same family.

Missile Support and Personnel on the Ground

Skibitskiy said about 90 North Korean personnel have been sent to Voronezh, Russia, to assist with missile launches, with 10 large cargo flights possibly carrying North Korean missiles landing at an aerodrome in the Voronezh area. He said newer versions of the missiles have an extended range of up to 800 kilometers but often land 15 to 19 kilometers off target, and that North Korea has been using the strikes on Ukraine to refine its targeting and payload capability.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said this month that North Korean units based in Russia’s Kursk region are now flying reconnaissance drones across the border into Ukraine’s Sumy region. The Ukrainian military said North Korean drone operators have identified Ukrainian troop positions and helped direct Russian rocket strikes, adding that Ukrainian forces have intercepted communications between North Korean drone operators and Russian army personnel.

A Growing and Evolving Presence

About 8,600 North Korean troops currently in Russia are organized into four brigades operating as part of Russia’s Sever group of forces, and are tasked mainly with guarding Russia’s state border rather than active combat. Ukrainian military intelligence estimates the North Korean contingent has suffered up to 3,000 permanent losses, including up to 1,500 wounded, out of a total of 23,000 to 25,000 personnel involved to date.

North Korean forces have also been redeployed into more specialized roles over time, including as artillery crews and reconnaissance drone operators, with around 3,000 believed to have returned home to serve as instructors, while tens of thousands more reportedly work in Russian arms factories, including drone assembly.

International Response

The United States and its allies have said North Korea’s troop deployments and arms transfers to Russia violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, which have subjected Pyongyang to sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and prohibit countries from hosting North Korean military trainers or advisers. Washington imposed additional sanctions in December 2024 on North Korean and Russian entities tied to Pyongyang’s military and financial support for Moscow, while South Korea has blacklisted individuals and entities linked to the cooperation.

Neither Russia’s Defense Ministry nor North Korea has publicly acknowledged the presence of North Korean troops fighting in the war, and both governments have not responded to requests for comment on the latest reported deployment figures.

The reported figure of up to 50,000 additional troops has not been independently confirmed and is based on Ukrainian intelligence assessments.