Pyongyang’s Ukraine Gamble: What Kim Jong Un Bought With North Korean Blood
Since October 2024, North Korea has sent an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region and absorbed roughly 6,000 casualties, based on South Korean and United Kingdom intelligence estimates. In June 2024, Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty in Pyongyang that included a mutual defense clause, and troop deployments followed within months. In return, analysts point to cash payments estimated in the billions of dollars, food and energy supplies, and technology transfers including air defense systems, Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters, and technical assistance connected to satellite launches and naval reactor technology for submarines.
Why it matters: The arrangement shows how the war in Ukraine has reshaped security alliances, turning a sanctioned state into a battlefield-tested partner of Russia with new leverage over Beijing.