- Around 10,000 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) combat troops are in Russia. It is almost certain some have already deployed to the Kursk region.
- Russia and DPRK have committed to deepening their bilateral partnership with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, which includes a mutual defence clause, and was ratified by the Russian State Duma on 24 October 2024. For Russia, DPRK's military support to its war in Ukraine has highly likely been the core driver for the partnership and has, until now, centred around North Korea's provision of arms. In return, DPRK has received high level international support from Russia and has secured a trading partner willing to break sanctions.
- Russian and DPRK forces would almost certainly experience interoperability difficulties having not previously carried out joint military exercises. DPRK troops conducting combat operations would almost certainly have issues operating Russian equipment, integrating into Russias command and control structure, and working around the language barrier with Russian forces.
To suggest a correction or clarification, write to us here
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
If this information is confirmed, it would be the first time such a weapon had been used since Russia invaded in February 2022.
19h ago