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North Korean state media has revealed that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un officially committed troops to Russia’s war against Ukraine on August 28, 2024.
**Why It Matters**
An estimated 11,000 North Korean troops had arrived in Russia’s Kursk region by late October, according to South Korean officials. An additional 3,000 reinforcements were sent after Pyongyang’s forces sustained heavy losses. This was North Korea’s first foreign military involvement and wasn’t acknowledged until April.
Satellite imagery and battlefield photos indicate that Pyongyang also supplied Russia with missiles and artillery shells. Washington and its allies believe the Kremlin is providing Kim with technology and expertise in return for North Korean military support.
**What to Know**
On August 30, 2025, state media shared a photo showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meeting with families of soldiers killed fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The broadcast included a segment commemorating these “heroes” and featured images from an action music video.
The order to put troops on the ground came three weeks after Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in Kursk, and two months before North Korean troops were first reported on the battlefield. This order was issued two months after Kim met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign a historic mutual military assistance pact.
**What People Have Said**
Kim Jong Un stated on Korean Central TV: “We will regard the war in Ukraine as our own war, and any violation of Russia’s sovereignty by the United States and Western bloc as a violation of our own sovereignty.”
Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told lawmakers in April that North Korea’s military assistance to Russia is a transactional symbiosis where each state fulfills the other’s weaknesses to mutual benefit.
**What’s Next**
North Korea could send up to 30,000 additional troops to the war, according to an assessment by Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency. President Donald Trump said he would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a timeline of “a couple of weeks” before announcing new punitive measures if Russia doesn’t show willingness to end the war.
Both Putin and Kim will be in Beijing this week for China’s military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender, marking the first time Chinese, Russian, and North Korean heads of state gather in one place.
