North Korea is preparing to send up to 30,000 additional troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian and Western intelligence.
The soldiers will follow the 11,000 North Korean troops secretly sent in late 2024, who reportedly played a role in helping Russia repel a Ukrainian incursion into its southwestern Kursk region.
About 4,000 of those troops were either killed or wounded, according to Western estimates. Despite the casualties, military cooperation between North Korea and Russia has since expanded.
According to a CNN report published on Wednesday, satellite imagery has revealed signs of logistical preparations, including a Russian Ropucha-class amphibious ship docked in May at Russia’s Far East port of Dunai—the same location linked to troop arrivals last year.
Meanwhile, cargo planes of the type previously used in military transfers were seen at North Korea’s Sunan airport in June.
Analysts from the U.K.-based Open Source Centre, which monitors defense and security developments using open-source intelligence, told CNN the activity suggests that the same routes used for last year’s secret deployments are now being activated again.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency, quoted by CNN, says that Russia’s defense ministry is capable of equipping the incoming North Korean troops and integrating them into its combat units.
The assessment indicates that these soldiers could be involved in front-line operations across Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, including in large-scale offensives.
At the same time, Ukrainian military officials report that Russia is amassing over 100,000 troops near Pokrovsk, a contested city in the Donetsk region, in what may be preparations for a new offensive.
Russia sent Pantsir missile system
Ukraine has claimed that North Korea received Russian-provided Pantsir-S1 defence systems, an air defence system with many technical issues that failed in Ukraine, Libya and Syria.
Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Ukrainian military intelligence arm (HUR), told local news agency Hromadske Radio that the weapons are stationed in Pyongyang and have already been activated for potential use.
Budanov also claimed that Moscow is collaborating with the East Asian country’s military to heighten their familiarity with the capability.
“I can tell you that the first Pantsir S-1 installations have already appeared in Pyongyang,” Budanov explained.
“They are already on combat duty there, guarding their capital. And the Russians are retraining Korean personnel, and soon the Koreans will be working autonomously on this technology.”
In the interview, Budanov said the recent movement in North Korea signals deepening cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, highlighting North Korea’s evolving weapons technology and military strength through their alliance.
North Korea has become a key ally to Russia in its three-year invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow offering defense support in exchange for North Korean troops, equipment, and services.
In June, HUR found that Russia is planning to help North Korea’s military industrial base establish local production of Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones. These drones have been effective for Moscow in its strikes on Ukraine.
The Pantsir-S1 was first introduced in the 1990s by Russia’s state-owned KBP Instrument Design Bureau and has been in Moscow’s military inventory since 2012.
Similar to America’s Patriot defense system, the Pantsir-S1 consists of a missile launcher, a radar, and a command post, which operate as one to effectively maintain aerial interception over specific installations, battalions, and other critical infrastructure.
It is managed by a crew of three, and employs surface-to-air missiles with high-explosive fragmentation effects against incoming warheads, aircraft, and drones.
The technology can monitor threats over a 35-kilometer radius and is capable of hitting targets at up to 17 kilometers, depending on the missiles used.
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