North Korea may increase western Russia deployment to 50,000 troops

Russia and North Korea are contemplating a plan to increase the number of North Korean troops deployed in western Russia, bringing their total to 50,000 by the end of November. This deployment, according to Ukraine's military intelligence, would bolster Russia's efforts to capture Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk, by the end of the year. Ukraine estimates that more than 42,000 Russian soldiers were either killed or wounded in July, prompting Moscow to seek reinforcements from North Korea.

A strategic partnership pact between Russia and North Korea, signed in 2024, obligates both nations to provide mutual assistance during emergencies. Over 10,000 North Korean soldiers have already been deployed to western Russia and have engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces, with the majority stationed in Kursk. The provisional plan suggests that North Korean units would primarily handle operations in Bryansk and Belgorod, in addition to Kursk.

Ukrainian intelligence officials anticipate that Russia and North Korea will finalize the plan at the highest level of their leadership. Presently, Ukraine estimates there are approximately 9,500 North Korean ground troops within Russia. Additionally, North Korea has recently dispatched around 90 missile troops to Russia's southern Voronezh region and has supplied Russia with an additional 40 ballistic missiles.

These weapons may have been utilized in late July near Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine's eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, and in early August in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautioned in a video statement on Monday that if North Korea gains combat experience, it would pose a heightened threat to Japan and South Korea.