North Korea may send another wave of troops to fight for Russia, report says
North Korea may be preparing to send a new wave of troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine, according to a report published on Sunday. The report says the possible deployment would mark a renewed and larger role for North Korean forces after earlier involvement in fighting linked to Russia's Kursk region. It also says the issue has returned to the centre of debate after comments from Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Zelensky said in August that up to 50,000 North Korean troops could be deployed to Russia, revising an earlier estimate of 30,000. The report says this would be a significant increase in North Korea's military support for Moscow if it happens. It also says the Ukrainian military intelligence directorate, known by its Ukrainian acronym HUR, estimates that 8,500 North Korean troops are still on Russian territory.
The report says those troops are organised into four brigades and are operating as part of Russia's Northern Group of Forces. Their stated mission is to help protect the Russian border in the Kursk region against Ukrainian incursions. HUR said in a statement to the BBC that the North Korean units are not taking part in active combat operations and that no North Korean army units have been observed in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory.
The possible return of North Korean troops matters because it would deepen an already unusual wartime partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang. The report says North Korea first sent soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces in late 2024, when Russia was trying to repel a Ukrainian offensive on Russian territory. It says the deployment came at a high cost, with as many as 3,000 North Korean troops killed in action out of 13,000 sent to the front.
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That earlier deployment is presented as a major test for Kim Jong-un, who has used the Kursk operation as the largest North Korean combat commitment in the war so far. The report says the troops initially entered the conflict in large groups and were described as operating with little regard for drones and automatic weapons fire. It also says they later adapted their tactics and helped Russian forces push Ukrainian units out of the Kursk region.
The report does not say whether a new deployment has been finalised, or when any additional troops might arrive. It also does not explain what role the reported new force would play beyond supporting Russia's war effort. What remains unclear is whether the figures cited by Zelensky reflect confirmed troop movements or intelligence assessments based on expected planning.
The issue is also significant for regional security because it links the war in Ukraine to wider military calculations involving North Korea and South Korea. Zelensky called on South Korea to provide air defence support after warning about the possible deployment. The report suggests that any larger North Korean presence in Russia would raise questions about how far Pyongyang is willing to go in backing Moscow, and how Russia may be using foreign forces to sustain pressure on the battlefield.
For now, the confirmed picture is limited to earlier North Korean involvement, the reported losses, and the continued presence of some troops in Russia according to Ukrainian intelligence. The next developments to watch are whether Moscow or Pyongyang confirm any new deployment, whether additional North Korean units appear in Kursk, and whether Ukraine or South Korea respond with new military or diplomatic measures. The report leaves open whether the reported 50,000 figure is a concrete plan or a warning based on intelligence estimates.
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