North Koreans in Kursk: A Revival of Historic DPRK-Russia Cooperation

In 2025, it became known that North Korean troops were fighting on the frontlines against Ukraine, a revelation that shocked the world. For long, the Russia-DPRK relationship had stagnated, but it was revived. What are the origins of this complex relationship, and where do the ties stand now?

A complex history of partnership

The history of extensive cooperation between Russia and the DPRK dates back to the 1950s, when the USSR became a key partner of North Korea, sustaining its economy and providing military protection, even sending military specialists and supplying weapons.

In 1961, the Soviet Union and North Korea signed a bilateral Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance. Until the early 1990s, the USSR accounted for between a quarter and half of the DPRK’s total foreign trade. With Soviet technical assistance, dozens of industrial facilities in North Korea were modernized or built from scratch.

After the collapse of the USSR, trade between the two countries plummeted nearly fiftyfold, remaining below $100 million annually. In 1996, Russia and the DPRK exchanged diplomatic notes acknowledging that the 1961 treaty had "lost its significance" and was "effectively no longer in force."

A new Treaty was signed in 2000. Still, until 2022, technical, military, and trade cooperation remained limited, focusing only on a few key sectors like agriculture and telecommunications. Occasional surges in collaboration, usually around high-level state visits, were short-lived and yielded little impact.

Russia also joined UN sanctions against the DPRK, particularly in 2016-2017, when restrictions were imposed in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile program. These measures banned certain financial transactions and restricted the movement of specific goods, severely limiting Russia’s ability to invest in or trade with North Korea.

However, despite minimal trade ties, Russia maintained friendly relations with the DPRK. For example, in 2014, the Russian State Duma ratified an agreement to settle North Korea’s Soviet-era debts. The total amount stood at $11 billion, 90% of which was written off.

Radical Shift

DPRK leader Kim Jong-un has repeatedly demonstrated his interest in intensifying cooperation with Russia, diversifying areas of interaction, and creating as well as implementing a comprehensive, full-scale program for mutual economic development of our two countries. For the DPRK, cooperation with Russia is vital in its efforts to reduce dependence on China, while also providing access to economic assistance and political backing from a major global power.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was followed by massive Western sanctions against many sectors of the Russian economy. These sanctions have significantly changed Russia's economic policy, including forcing it to seek new markets. Also, Russia felt the need for stable partners, especially those possessing significant military potential and dual-use technologies.

At the same time, it was precisely the threat of sanctions and escalating international tensions that had restrained Russia from deepening cooperation with the DPRK in previous years. Once sanctions became an established reality, Russian companies lost their reasons for delaying trade development — and soon this approach yielded results.

Moreover, Russia reciprocated North Korea's diplomatic support. In September 2023, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that Russia and China would no longer approve any new sanctions against the DPRK in the UN Security Council.

But it was 2024 that became the biggest breakthrough in the development of cooperation between Russia and the DPRK. In June 2024, Russian President Putin made his first official visit to the DPRK since 2000 — a highly symbolic diplomatic event.

During the high-level Russia-DPRK talks in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024, the two nations signed a landmark Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty. The Russian State Duma subsequently ratified the agreement, followed by approval from the Federation Council, with President Putin formally signing the ratification law on November 9.

Notably, Putin's visit yielded an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in healthcare, medical education and scientific research. The signed agreements have also yielded results through expanded cooperation in agriculture, geological exploration, and information technologies. However, military cooperation remains the largest and most rapidly growing aspect of bilateral relations between the two countries.

A new chapter in military cooperation

The first significant aspect of cooperation that surged dramatically after the 2022 events has been North Korean ammunition supplies to Russia. This development perfectly illustrates the mutually beneficial nature of the partnership.

For Russia, a large-scale war consumes enormous quantities of ammunition. In this regard, Russia primarily relies on its own production capacity and remaining Soviet-era stockpiles. While it would be inaccurate to say Russia faces critical ammunition shortages, neither can it claim vast reserves — making DPRK shipments particularly timely.

For North Korea, its extensive military-industrial complex faces limited outlets for its products. While it maintains its own stockpiles, domestic demand remains constrained even with storage facilities being filled and regular military exercises - absent a major war. Typically, nations with substantial arms production capabilities export their products, as South Korea does.

However, the DPRK faces sanctions that restrict arms exports, as with all its other products. Although North Korean-made weaponry can be found in various conflict zones worldwide, these usually involve small-scale covert shipments.

In this context, ammunition supplies to Russia allow North Korea to utilize idle military-industrial capacity and derive economic benefits from it.

The ammunition supplies were followed by increased exchanges of military technology and direct weapons transfers. Notably, the DPRK has supplied Russia with self-propelled artillery systems and air defense equipment.

This cooperation has enabled North Korea to qualitatively upgrade its armed forces. A prime example is the development of the country's first airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, based on a civilian Il-76 platform. While the exact level of Russian specialists' involvement remains unclear, the project progressed remarkably fast — with construction beginning in late 2023 and the first test flight occurring in March 2025.

This aircraft significantly enhances the DPRK's preparedness against surprise attacks, thereby strengthening the country's strategic nuclear capabilities among other military advantages. Of course, a single aircraft proves insufficient — maintaining constant airborne surveillance would require at least 3-4 such platforms. Further developments in this direction appear likely.

In late April, North Korea launched the largest warship built in the country, described as a 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer. In addition to a groundbreaking (for North Korea) radar system, which Russian experts likely helped create, the ship is equipped with Russian Pantsir-M naval anti-aircraft gun-missile system.

Direct military involvement

While all these reciprocal arms transfers, though substantial, fell within the expected scope of bilateral cooperation, mid-2024 revealed that the new Russia-DPRK Еreaty encompasses far more ambitious provisions. The agreement has proven to be an operational defense pact that includes provisions for direct military assistance.

Following Ukraine's offensive in Russia's Kursk region, evidence began emerging of DPRK soldiers participating in the fighting on Russia's side.

On April 26, Chief of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff Valery Gerasimov, while reporting to Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the complete liberation of Kursk Oblast, specifically highlighted the assistance provided by DPRK forces in the operation - thereby officially acknowledging their participation. This was soon followed by an official confirmation from the DPRK itself.

The exact size of the North Korean military contingent on Russian territory remains unclear, but available evidence suggests it numbers at the very minimum several thousand personnel.

Judging by photographs and reports released in Russian media, these troops have been primarily equipped with Russian military gear, while also utilizing some of their own vehicles.

So far, North Korean soldiers have been deployed exclusively in Kursk Oblast — internationally recognized Russian territory — which helps avoid diplomatic complications that could arise from their participation in battles on Ukrainian soil.

For the DPRK, this military involvement not only elevates relations with Russia to a new level and reinforces their bilateral Еreaty, but also provides invaluable combat experience that cannot be purchased at any price. Despite maintaining a large standing army, North Korea has not been engaged in any armed conflicts for decades. This has inevitably eroded its real-world combat effectiveness, even with regular military exercises.

By participating in world's largest and most technologically advanced conflict at a critical frontline sector, the DPRK is gaining precisely the practical modern warfare experience it lacks. This knowledge can prove crucial for modernizing military doctrines, while battle-tested soldiers and officers can facilitate its implementation.

These developments significantly complicate the defense calculus for U.S. Asian allies — particularly South Korea and Japan — likely prompting them to enhance their own military preparedness in response.