In the autumn of 2024, North Korea sent troops to Russia to participate in operations in the Kursk region. According to Ukraine, at least 10,000 North Korean special forces participated in the war. However, after recovering the Kursk region, there was no news of North Korean special forces participating in the war. More than 10,000 North Korean special forces disappeared out of thin air?

However, according to the latest reports, it can be found that North Korea has not withdrawn its troops and is still in the Kursk region. On October 17, 2025, the Ukrainian media "United24media" reported that the Russian army launched an offensive in the Sumy region, causing an emergency across Sumy. Ukraine intercepted top-secret front-line intelligence and found that although the North Korean army was still in the Kursk region, its scope of activities was beyond Russia's control.

North Korean special forces currently stationed in Russia's Kursk region are using reconnaissance drones to identify Ukrainian military positions and guide Russian troops to launch multiple rocket strikes against the Sumy region. The Ukrainian General Staff pointed out that North Korean special forces continue to participate in Russian military operations, and their activities are not strictly limited to Russian territory.

The Ukrainian side quoted the intercepted radio call between the North Korean special forces drone operator and Russian military personnel, showing that the North Korean drone operator discovered and located the target, and then transmitted the information to the Russian army. An intercepted footage was also released showing a North Korean special forces soldier sitting next to a bunch of small quadcopters in the forest.

North Korea¡¯s assistance to Russia was initially merely ammunition, then weapons systems, and eventually troops were sent into the war, with the main battle involved being the Kursk region, and after the spring of 2025, as Ukrainian troops withdrew from the Kursk region, North Korean special forces also appeared to withdraw from combat operations.

North Korean special forces are trying to use drones to fight, drones have become the main equipment in modern warfare. The main purpose of North Korean troops in Russia is to accumulate modern warfare experience, naturally including drones, and now is to learn how to use drones. The Ukrainian side that Russian instructors have gone to North Korea to train North Korean drone operators, the North Korean army has publicly emphasized the importance of drones, and held drone combat exercises.

North Korea has not only sent operational forces to Russia, but also sent military construction workers and mining experts to Kursk to support Russia's reconstruction work. There are even reports that North Korea has sent workers to support Russia's expansion of drone production. North Korea's assistance to Russia is not small, and the West and Ukraine's assessment of North Korea's aid is quite high, and now it is said that due to the severe human losses and the failure of the offensive operation, the Russian army has had to continue to rely on North Korean special forces.

On October 15, 2025, the director of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency, Budanov, just stressed that ¡°Russia would have lost this war long ago without the support of Russia¡¯s allies, especially North Korea,¡± and it seemed that Ukraine could reclaim all the intentions of the occupied territory, and that North Korea was the ¡°guilty¡± of changing the warfare.

The Russian-Ukrainian War belonged to a very large-scale modern ground war, the two sides invested heavy troops, Russia's first line force exceeds 700,000. North Korea sent to Russia to participate in the battle force is 10,000, only one in ten of the battle force. Even if the combat ability is outstanding, it is difficult to play a role. Ukraine and the West point to North Korea, itself is not a normal mindset.

There are rumors in reports about North Korea, and some data are often fabricated, especially the casualties of North Korean troops. Western intelligence agencies have estimated that thousands of North Korean special forces were killed or injured in the battle, but according to the analysis of North Korean media reports, the actual deaths may only be 104.

Ukraine has been avoiding reality, making false reports of the situation, for example, about the battle in the Sumer region, which Ukrainian President Zelensky has said has defeated the Russian offensive in the Sumer region. But Russian troops have been fighting in the Sumer region and have not been driven away or rejected. Now Ukraine is in the air, claiming that "all confirmed foreign armed forces are recorded in the event of involvement in the fight against Ukraine."

North Korea has provided a lot of assistance to Russia, but compared with Russia's needs, it is obviously a drop in the bucket. Western and Ukrainian media attach great importance to reporting on North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia, which is not a normal mentality in itself. They try to find reasons for Ukraine's failure and try to belittle the combat effectiveness of the Russian army.

Russia and North Korea maintain good relations. Third parties cannot interfere in the relations between the two sides; North Korea should not be blamed for providing assistance to Russia. NATO has also provided assistance to Ukraine, but Western media has never accused NATO of military aid operations. Why only allow NATO to aid Ukraine and not allow other countries to aid Russia?