North Korea may have generated as much as $14.4 billion in revenue through troop deployments and military equipment exports to Russia during the war in Ukraine, according to a report released March 13 by a South Korean security research institute.
The analysis was published by the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul and examines the economic impact of North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia since 2023. The report concludes that payments linked to troop deployments and arms exports could weaken the economic pressure created by international sanctions targeting Pyongyang.
The research suggests that North Korea began sending military personnel to Russia in October 2024 and has conducted four separate troop deployments since then. According to the report, more than 20,000 personnel—including combat troops and engineering units—are believed to have been deployed.
Satellite imagery and other open-source indicators have also suggested that North Korea supplied Russia with military equipment prior to and during the troop deployments. These shipments reportedly included artillery shells, multiple rocket launch systems, self-propelled artillery systems, and ballistic missiles transported in containers.
Lim Soo-ho, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy, presented the estimates in a report titled “Economic Effects of North Korea’s Troop Deployment to Russia and Military Equipment Exports.”
“If North Korea fully collects compensation for troop deployment and arms exports, the core economic effect of sanctions against North Korea—reducing foreign currency inflows—is expected to be neutralized,” Lim said in the report.
According to the study, the total foreign currency earnings North Korea may have generated between August 2023 and December 2024 from arms exports and troop deployments are estimated to range between $7.67 billion and $14.4 billion.
At the upper estimate, the total would exceed 21 trillion South Korean won, or roughly $14.4 billion. The report estimates that direct revenue tied specifically to troop deployment—including soldiers’ wages and death compensation payments—amounts to about $620 million.
The report also suggests that if current arrangements continue, North Korea could generate approximately $560 million per year solely from troop deployments.
Despite these figures, the research indicates that confirmed compensation payments represent only a small portion of the estimated revenue. Lim said that verified payments likely account for between 4 percent and 19.6 percent of the total estimated value.
“Confirmed compensation is limited to physical goods that are easy to observe visually or by satellite,” Lim wrote in the report.
“The majority of compensation for troop deployment and arms exports is highly likely to be received, or will be received in the future, in the form of sensitive military technologies or related precision components and materials that are difficult to observe by satellite.”
The report notes that the nature of the compensation structure makes verification difficult because many transfers may involve technology, materials, or equipment that cannot easily be identified through open-source monitoring.
North Korea has long faced international sanctions intended to restrict its access to foreign currency and military technology. These sanctions have targeted arms exports, missile development programs, and financial networks linked to the North Korean government.
Military cooperation with Russia during the war in Ukraine has drawn increasing attention from governments and security analysts. Western officials have previously accused Pyongyang of supplying ammunition and other weapons to support Russia’s military operations.
The South Korean analysis focuses primarily on the financial dimension of that cooperation rather than operational battlefield effects. The report assesses how military support to Russia could provide Pyongyang with new revenue streams and access to defense technology.
Satellite imagery and shipping records have been cited in previous analyses as evidence of containers moving between North Korean and Russian ports. These movements have been linked to suspected transfers of artillery ammunition and other military equipment.
The report suggests that technology transfers may play a major role in the compensation framework between Moscow and Pyongyang. According to the analysis, such exchanges may involve sensitive defense technologies or specialized industrial components.
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