Putin confirms North Korea sent thousands of troops to fight in Ukraine as Russia-NK alliance deepens
By isabelle // 2025-05-01
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  • Putin confirms North Korea has sent 12,000 troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, marking Pyongyang's first major overseas combat mission since the Korean War.
  • North Korean state media declares the deployment aims to "annihilate Ukrainian forces" in Kursk, framing it as a heroic mission for their homeland.
  • Reports reveal heavy North Korean casualties (4,700, including 600 dead) due to unfamiliarity with modern warfare, though Ukrainian forces struggle against their sheer numbers.
  • The Russia-North Korea alliance includes arms exchanges and a new mutual defense pact, raising global security concerns and potential escalation with the U.S. and South Korea.
  • The conflict expands as North Korea tests nuclear-capable missiles and threatens South Korea, transforming the Ukraine war into a broader geopolitical crisis.
The world is now witnessing a dangerous and unprecedented military alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang, with Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledging that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. The confirmation comes just days after Putin declared the “full liberation” of Ukraine’s captured Kursk region, an assertion Kyiv strongly denies. The deployment, which intelligence reports estimate includes up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers, marks the first major overseas combat mission for the reclusive regime since the Korean War. But the move also signals a deepening partnership that could reshape global security, especially as North Korea flexes its nuclear capabilities and threatens South Korea.

North Korean troops “shoulder to shoulder” with Russia

Putin, in an official Kremlin statement, praised the North Koreans, declaring they fought “shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters” to defend Russia as if it were their own homeland. “The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the DPRK special forces,” Putin said, using North Korea’s official name. He promised to honor those killed in battle, calling them heroes who sacrificed for “our common freedom.” North Korea’s state media, meanwhile, confirmed the deployment for the first time, quoting Kim Jong Un’s order to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.” KCNA, the regime’s propaganda arm, hailed the mission as a victory, stating, “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland.”

Russian training, heavy casualties, and battlefield reality

While North Korean soldiers are trained in brutal discipline, reports indicate they were woefully unprepared for modern warfare. Russian military footage showed instructors training North Koreans in AK-47 use, RPG handling, and anti-drone tactics — skills far removed from their rigid, isolated drills at home. But the battlefield has been unforgiving. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service estimates 4,700 casualties, including 600 dead, among North Korean forces — an astonishing loss rate for a military with zero experience in large-scale conflicts outside the Korean Peninsula. Ukrainian drones and artillery have reportedly exploited their unfamiliarity with terrain and tactics. Still, Ukrainian commanders admit the sheer numbers of North Korean troops have created difficulties, with one general describing them as “highly motivated and well-prepared.”

A growing axis of autocracy

The troop deployment is just one facet of a deepening military alliance. North Korea has already shipped vast quantities of artillery shells and rockets to Russia, likely in exchange for advanced military technology, such as air defense systems and satellite expertise. The 2024 mutual defense pact, Pyongyang’s strongest since the Cold War, now binds both regimes together, raising fears of further escalation. Ukraine warns this could trigger direct conflict with the U.S. and South Korea. “If the Kremlin sends North Korean troops to the territory of Ukraine, it would mean that North Korea is in a state of all-out war with Ukraine,” warned Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee. He predicted harsh consequences, forcing Washington and Seoul to react. Meanwhile, analysts suggest Kim Jong Un’s gambit is a desperate bid for Russian war technology and economic aid, while Putin sees expendable troops to counter Ukraine’s dwindling manpower. Yet the human cost is staggering: thousands of young North Korean soldiers, many conscripted from remote regions, are being sacrificed for a dictator’s ambitions. The war in Ukraine has now expanded beyond Europe, pulling in one of the world’s most oppressive regimes and accelerating a dangerous arms exchange between Russia and North Korea. With Pyongyang threatening nuclear war on South Korea and testing missiles capable of hitting the U.S., the consequences of this unholy alliance may extend far beyond the battlefields of Kursk. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com APNews.com ABCNews.go.com BBC.com
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