North Korea’s elite troops are in Russia to fight Ukraine: What we know
The North Korean Special Forces sent to Russia are the state’s best trained troops but they will face challenges with modern warfare technology, experts say.
SEOUL — As many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers are being trained in Russia and some have already been deployed in the war against Ukraine, an unprecedented move by Pyongyang to send its people into danger in a combat zone far from the Korean Peninsula.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to have dispatched some of his best soldiers to aid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort, including the elite “Storms Corps” unit that had long been training to infiltrate the South, according to South Korean intelligence officials.
U.S. and NATO officials have warned that the infusion of North Korean troops could be a “dangerous expansion” of the war in Ukraine and a “very, very serious issue” that could have reverberations in both Europe and the Pacific. The deployment of North Korean forces is the latest sign of the deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow as they join forces against the West.
What do we know about the North Korean forces being deployed to Russia?
What to know
Who serves in the North Korean military?
Return to menuThe North’s military, known as the Korean People’s Army (KPA), was established in 1948 with the backing of what was then the Soviet Union, to support the new state’s founder, Kim Il Sung, as he defended his fledgling regime and sought to dominate the Korean Peninsula by force.
Since the 1950-1953 Korean War halted in an armistice, soldiers on both sides of the Korean Peninsula have been preparing for conflict to resume.
In the decades since, the KPA has evolved into one of the world’s largest militaries with about 1.2 million soldiers, including Special Operations units and an aspiring nuclear force.
Most North Korean soldiers are underfed and poorly equipped, experts and escapees from North Korea say. The level of malnourishment in the population is reflected in the minimum height and weight requirements for military conscripts: soldiers must be at least 4-foot-10 (148 cm) and weigh 95 pounds (43 kilograms) to be eligible to serve, according to research by the South Korean Unification Ministry.
North Korean men are drafted into the military. They typically begin their service at 17 years old, and serve for eight to 10 years. Some women also serve in the military, typically for five years.
Most of the troops sent to Russia are in their early 20s, while some are teenagers, the South Korean spy agency told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Only the most elite North Koreans and those deemed hostile to the regime — for example, family members of North Koreans who have escaped the country — are exempt from military service.
For the vast majority who do serve, they are put to work rather than into military operations. Because North Korea suffers from chronic food insecurity, soldiers are often dispatched to plant or harvest crops.
What do we know about North Korea’s elite troops being deployed to Russia, including the ‘Storm Corps’?
Return to menuThe soldiers sent to Russia were Special Operations Forces, including from North Korea’s elite 11th Army Corps, often called the “Storm Corps,” South Korea’s spy agency said last week.
North Korea’s Special Operations units are trained with the best equipment, including explosives, chemical and biological agents, parachutes and aircraft — although rudimentary compared to the Special Forces units of other countries, according to a 2021 Defense Intelligence Agency report on North Korea’s military power.
The various Special Forces units comprise more than 200,000 personnel, according to the report. These elite units are highly trained, and have long been training to attack South Korea or defend against foreign attacks on the North.
The Special Forces encompass troops from the navy, army and air force. They operate in specialized units, which include reconnaissance, sniper and commando squads, according to the DIA. They are trained in specialized skills, such as kidnapping key personnel and launching surprise attacks that catch the enemy offguard.
These troops have been involved in some of North Korea’s most notorious military operations over the past few decades, including a 1968 raid on Seoul that led to fatalities on both sides.
These Special Forces are so prized in North Korea that have been featured in state media — often touted as the strongest soldiers, sometimes appearing shirtless to demonstrate their muscular physiques.
Although they are among the North’s best trained troops, these soldiers are likely to face difficulties adjusting to modern warfare, said Hyunseung Lee, a North Korean escapee and human rights advocate who trained with the Storm Corps for six months while he served in the North Korean Army’s Special Forces.
“They’re not trained with the best technology [or] advanced equipment,” Lee said. “If they were deployed in the war’s battlefield, the Ukrainians will use advanced technologies and drones and missiles. They will just not have had that experience before.”
Lee noted that for the vast majority of these Special Forces soldiers, deployment to Russia will be their first time encountering battle — and the outside world. He added that the soldiers are “victims of a ruthless deal between Kim Jong-un and Putin,” and that “many of them are facing their first real battle, ill-equipped and terrified.”
How many troops is North Korea sending to Russia and where are they going?
Return to menuThe Pentagon said Monday that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia for military training, and are probably being trained to augment Putin’s forces. Ukrainian and South Korean officials have given higher estimates of 12,000 to 19,000.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Monday that North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Kursk, the Russian border region where Ukrainian forces seized territory in a surprise attack over the summer. Ukrainians have struggled to hold on to their gains in Kursk since their offensive.
Kim Yeol-su, a senior security expert at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs in Seoul, said other personnel are probably being sent to Russia to support the elite troops, such as engineering and reserves units and those helping with logistics, ammunition support and transportation.
“The Special Forces are likely to be the main troops being there. But if there are tens of thousands being sent, there must be many more soldiers who are being sent along with the Storm Corps to provide them with food, shelter, ammunition, communications, and so on,” Kim said.
Despite their specialization, the Special Forces troops are likely to be helping with combat missions as they are being trained and learning how the Russians are fighting and communicating, Kim said.
A former Kremlin official, who is still close to government circles, said the North Korean deployment in Kursk was “an act of revenge after what the Kremlin perceives as an escalation in Kursk” and the decision by Kyiv’s Western allies to allow some strikes inside Russia. “This is another step on the escalation scale.”
The former official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss sensitive matters, said it’s “cheaper and politically simpler” for the Kremlin to deploy North Korean forces. The official said he believed that North Korea is receiving much-needed cash for the deployment, as well as military experience and battlefield skills for the troops.
South Korea’s spy agency said last week that Russia is expected to pay each North Korean soldier about $2,000 each month — an enormous amount by North Korean standards. The lowest monthly salary for a Russian private soldier in the combat zone is $2,500, Andrei Lankov, a prominent scholar in North Korean-Russian relations, wrote in NK News, a specialist website.
What is North Korea’s military relationship with Russia?
Return to menuKim and Putin have deepened their partnership against a Western-led global order since the invasion, and Kim has pledged “full” support for Putin’s fight. Moscow first turned to Pyongyang for weapons that it desperately needs, according to U.S., Ukrainian and South Korean officials.
And now, Kim is sending his own citizens to fight — a highly unusual move for a country that has rarely gotten involved in foreign wars.
Both Russia and North Korea have obliquely acknowledged the presence of the troops, with a North Korean vice foreign minister saying last week that if the “rumor” is true, “it will be an act conforming with the regulations of international law.”
President Putin last week cited the Russia-North Korea defense treaty signed in June, which states that if one country is subject to an “armed invasion,” the other would provide “military and other assistance with all means in its possession.” The treaty was speedily ratified by Russia’s parliament last week.
The two pariah states now appear to be putting that treaty into action.
Francesca Ebel in Moscow contributed reporting.