North Korea Plans 30,000-50,000 More Troops for Russia as 148 Missiles Hit Ukraine War
Updated
Updated · DW (English) · Aug 17
North Korea Plans 30,000-50,000 More Troops for Russia as 148 Missiles Hit Ukraine War
3 articles · Updated · DW (English) · Aug 17
Summary
30,000-50,000 additional North Korean troops are suspected of being prepared for Russia, on top of the 14,000-15,000 Pyongyang sent in late 2024 to help defend Kursk.
Ukrainian officials and analysts say those troops would most likely secure Russian border regions such as Kursk and Voronezh, freeing roughly 15,000 Russian soldiers for frontline sectors including Kharkiv and Sumy.
148 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles have been delivered by North Korea since 2025, according to Ukraine's HUR, which also says a missile unit could deploy to Voronezh with 120 more missiles.
Patriot systems are the main defense against those missiles, but Ukraine is critically short of them as analysts say Russia is using the less accurate, heavier-payload weapons to intensify strikes on residential areas.
Experts cited by DW do not see North Korea's support as a war-changing turning point, but they warn the deeper Russia-North Korea partnership could make the coming winter markedly harder for Ukraine.