Not only in the Russian Federation: the DPRK is preparing to send up to 30 thousand soldiers to Ukraine - CNN
In this way, they will complement the 11,000th contingent of North Korean fighters, who were sent for the Russian army to reinforcements last November. At that time, the military leadership of the Russian Federation denied the use of a foreign army for war against Ukraine, but confirmed this information in April 2025. According to Western officials, the DPRK troops were fighting against the Armed Forces in the Kursk region, and about 4,000 of them were killed or injured.
However, this was not stopped by Kim Jong -in, and his cooperation with Moscow only blossomed. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the defense department of the Russian Federation is able to provide "the necessary equipment, weapons and ammunition" for the purpose of "further integration into Russian combat units". The report emphasizes that the DPRK's troops will be involved in the battles in the occupied Ukrainian territories and will participate in large -scale offensive operations.
Intelligence has found signs that Russian military aircraft are converted for transportation of personnel, which reflects a large -scale task for the movement of tens of thousands of foreign servicemen through Russian Siberia bordering North Korea. Possible preparations for a new deployment, including the arrival of the ship associated with last year's deployment in the Russian port, and a freight aircraft at Sunan North Korean Airport, were noticed in satellite images obtained by CNN.
Jenny Town, senior researcher and director of the Korean program in the center of Stimson, said that the Ukrainian score of up to 30,000 North Korean soldiers sounds "overstated". "But they may certainly call this number. These will not be elite soldiers. Kim Jong -in said he is completely in the case, so it all depends on what Russia asks," she said. In her opinion, more realistic figures - from 10 to 20 thousand, which will be unfolded in stages.
Town also voiced that Russian generals had already taught troops in the DPRK. The National Intelligence Service of South Korea (NIS) informed the legislators in Seoul that North Korea had begun selection of foreign business staff, which may take place in July or August, according to the remarks of Leevis Son Quen. He emphasized Russia's public statement about the departure of another 6,000 North Korean sappers and military builders.
For his part, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov stated that Kiev suspects that even more North Korean troops could be deployed. He warns that the country's leader Kim Jong -in risks to bring his own government to danger if he sends so many elite troops to the front line. "The use of Russian elite North Korean troops demonstrates not only the growing dependence on totalitarian regimes, but also serious problems with its mobilization reserve.