section_path: Foreign involvement/Support for Russia/North Korea
section_name: North Korea
paragraph_text: North Korea
  
  North Korea has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles and launchers, US authorities have not stated which specific models. Debris left by missiles in December 2023 attacks against Ukrainian targets, show parts common to Hwasong-11A (KN-23), Hwasong-11B (KN-24) and KN-25 missiles. In October 2024, Ukraine and South Korea claimed North Korean engineers had been deployed to the battlefield to help with the launch of these missiles, and suffered casualties.
  
  Later the same month, a White House spokesperson said the US was "concerned" about reports North Korean soldiers were fighting for Russia. Zelensky announced that Ukrainian intelligence believed there were 10,000 North Korean troops preparing to join Russian forces. The North Korean government stated that none of their soldiers were fighting for Russia.
  
  The US later said it had seen evidence that North Korea had sent 3,000 soldiers to Russia for possible deployment to Ukraine, determining that the soldiers had been transported by ship in October and were undergoing training at three military bases in eastern Russia. The US added that the alleged North Korean deployment could be further evidence that the Russian military was having problems with manpower. On 28 October, NATO chief Mark Rutte confirmed earlier Ukrainian intelligence that North Korean troops had been deployed to Kursk Oblast to support Russia against the Kursk offensive (2024–2025), and the Pentagon reported an increased number of 10,000 North Korean soldiers sent.
  
  On 7 November, Ukraine's defence minister reported that North Korean troops had been engaged in battle on 5 November. On 13 November, the US State Department and South Korea confirmed that North Korean troops had begun engaging in combat against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast. On 24 November, the Ukrainian chief of general staff confirmed that North Korean troops had been engaged in battle. On 2 December the Pentagon stated that it had no evidence of North Korean troops engaged in combat, but noted that North Korean soldiers had been integrated into Russian units. The Ukrainian intelligence directorate confirmed that North Korean troops have been integrated into Russian units held in reserve, but said North Korean troops were unlikely to be engaged in combat and were still engaged in training. On 16 December, the US confirmed that North Korean troops had been killed in combat in Russia's Kursk oblast. By 18 December, the number of killed and wounded North Korean soldiers had reportedly reached a couple of hundred, while South Korea reported 100 North Koreans dead and 1000 injured. US Army JAG officers Steve Szymanski and Joshua Keruski stated that North Korea had become a party to an international armed conflict with Ukraine as of the 5 November engagement.
  
  Zelenskyy showcased footage which he said showed Russian troops burning the faces of killed North Korean soldiers in an attempt to conceal their presence on the battlefield.
  
  In January 2025, two North Korean servicemen were taken prisoner while fighting in Kursk Oblast. Intelligence debriefings indicate that North Korean soldiers have been issued with false military papers stating that they are Russians hailing from Tuva. In March 2025, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that North Korea had sent an additional 3,000 soldiers early in the year, along with military equipment including short-range ballistic missiles to support Russia. According to South Korea, roughly 11,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent to Russia, 4,000 of them being killed or wounded. The same month, Russia acknowledged the presence of North Korean soldiers helping its forces in Kursk for the first time, with Valery Gerasimov specifically expressing gratitude to North Korean troops for assisting in "liberating border areas of the Kursk Region".