Zelensky: North Korea preparing to deploy up to 50,000 soldiers to Russia by November

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that North Korea is preparing to send between 30,000 and 50,000 troops to Russian territory to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

This represents a sharp increase compared to the approximately 10,000 North Korean soldiers estimated to be in Russia at present.

On August 9, Zelensky wrote on X that “a decision has been made to transfer between 30,000 and 50,000 North Koreans to Russian territory,” raising his previous late-July estimate of an additional 30,000 troops.

On Thursday, the Japanese news agency Kyodo News, citing Ukrainian military intelligence, reported confirmation of the planned buildup: North Korea and Russia are considering a plan to increase the force to 50,000 troops by the end of November. The troops are reportedly set to take on duties in Russia’s Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions, freeing up Russian forces for offensive operations in eastern Ukraine in the Donbas.

According to the Ukrainian intelligence report cited by Kyodo, approximately 9,500 North Korean ground forces troops are currently deployed on Russian territory. In addition, North Korea recently sent a missile unit of 90 personnel to Russia’s Voronezh region, along with 40 new KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles.

South Korean lawmaker Yoo Yong-won, a former military journalist who visited Ukraine earlier this year, told DW that he is concerned that “this appears to be becoming a reality,” noting that 30,000–50,000 troops would significantly exceed the approximately 20,000 personnel involved in the initial deployment.

Han Ki-bom, a former deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, urged caution.

“Ukraine initially spoke of 30,000 additional troops and then raised the estimate to 50,000 without providing detailed evidence,” Han Ki-bom said.

At the same time, he noted that North Korea has sufficient manpower for such a deployment, and that North Korean infantry “could guard Russian rear areas, allowing more Russian soldiers to be moved to the front line in Ukraine.”

South Korean intelligence estimates that around 6,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded since the initial deployment began in late 2024. Despite these losses, Russian officials have spoken highly of the North Korean fighters, and analysts note that their combat effectiveness has increased following heavy initial casualties.

Ahn Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies and a former North Korean military officer who defected to the South in 1979, said that “deploying 50,000 soldiers is entirely feasible from a military standpoint,” and that Pyongyang would likely send elite special operations forces as well as infantry, engineering, and medical units.

Zelensky warned that North Korea is gaining invaluable experience in modern warfare through this conflict, and called on South Korea to strengthen cooperation with Ukraine in the areas of air defense and drones. According to Ahn, surviving soldiers “will be able to bring valuable combat knowledge home,” potentially enabling them to become instructors who spread lessons on drone use and reconnaissance throughout the North Korean military.