Ukrainian Intelligence Reveals Military Equipment Supplied to North Korean Troops for Use in the Ukraine

In late October, Russia transported over 7,000 North Korean soldiers from its Primorsky Krai region to areas near the Ukrainian border, according to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR).

North Korean troops were equipped with:

• 60mm mortars

• AK-12 assault rifles

• RPK and PKM machine guns

• SVD and SVCh sniper rifles

• Phoenix anti-tank missile systems

• RPG-7 launchers

Additional equipment:

• Night vision devices

• Thermal imagers

• Collimator sights

• Binoculars

In early October, reports from Kyiv Post highlighted that six North Korean military advisors were killed in a missile strike in Russian-occupied Donetsk. Soon after, South Korea’s Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyeon warned of possible North Korean military support for Russia in Ukraine.

According to additional reports, North Korea is not only supplying ground troops but also military pilots to support Russian operations. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte recently confirmed the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, calling it a significant escalation in North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

As of October 31, it was reported that North Korea sent three generals to Russia, including a deputy chief of staff who leads the country’s main intelligence agency. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that around 8,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, near the Ukrainian border.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also confirmed that thousands of North Korean troops were stationed near the border, estimating that North Korea may ultimately deploy up to 12,000 soldiers to support Russian forces.