North Korea Uses Russia’s War in Ukraine to Upgrade Its Own Military Might

North Korea celebrated the 77th anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on February 8, 2025. North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un addressed the National Defense Ministry and said that in keeping with the “spirit” of their strategic partnership with Russia, “our army and our people will invariably support and encourage the just cause of the Russian army and people to defend their sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea, reported. 

Referring to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Kim Jong Un claimed that the US is a “wrecker of global peace and stability hallucinated by a wild ambition for establishing unipolar hegemony,” further saying that the US and NATO have an “unrealizable dream of dealing strategic setbacks for Russia.”

North Korea is set to participate in Russia’s Victory Day parade in May 2025 for the first time, Japanese media NHK reported, citing "multiple Russian sources.”

Experts suggest that their strategic partnership is far less about defending Russia’s “sovereignty, security and territorial integrity” and more about providing North Korea with an opportunity to develop and improve its skills, troops, and weaponry in modern combat for the first time in decades. 

Developing North Korean skills and weaponry

The isolated nation of North Korea has rapidly developed its weapons programs in recent years, but only put them to use for the first time on Ukraine’s frontlines. 

North Korean missiles fired at Ukraine have become significantly more precise, now striking within 50–100 meters of their intended targets, two senior Ukrainian sources told Reuters. The sources suggested that North Korea is successfully using the battlefield to test its missile technology.

There has been marked improvement in the precision of the more than 20 North Korean ballistic missiles that have struck Ukraine, according to sources who requested anonymity. They further stated that earlier in the war, and up until late December 2024, the missiles had an accuracy range of 1–3 km.

Since the end of 2023, Russia has fired around 100 North Korean K-23, K-23A, and K-24 short-range ballistic missiles at Ukraine, the source said.

Russia and North Korea signed a strategic partnership agreement in June 2024, marking a significant step in their growing alliance. As part of this agreement, North Korea sent 100,000 of its troops to Russia’s Kursk region, where they are now directly involved in clashes with Ukrainian forces and gaining modern combat experience. 

Yang Uk, a weapons expert at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, warned that such advancements could enhance North Korea’s ability to threaten South Korea, Japan, and even the US, while also increasing the likelihood of selling upgraded weapons to rogue states or armed groups.

“That can have a major impact on stability in the region and the world,” Yang said.

“Russia’s reliance on North Korea is becoming increasingly evident, particularly given the shortages of its own heavy artillery,” Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said.

Reports indicate that over 50%, and in some areas more than 70%, of the ammunition and artillery shells used by Russian forces are sourced from North Korea. Despite harsh sanctions, over 200 of North Korea’s military enterprises are thriving, supplying Russia with everything from footwear, and uniforms to artillery shells—9 million units thus far. 

This year, North Korea is expected to mass produce new drones co-developed by Russia, NHK reported, citing sources familiar with Russia-North Korea relations. The sources told NHK that the “drone development is in return for North Korea's deployment of soldiers to aid Russia.”

Korean People’s Army in combat

North Korea, currently, boasts one of the largest armies globally, with around 1.3 million active soldiers. However, unlike Russia, the Korean People’s Army (KPA) has no real combat experience and is now learning the realities of modern warfare first-hand. 

“For the first time in decades, the North Korean army is gaining real military experience,” Andrii Yusov, a Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman commented. “This is a global challenge. Not just for Ukraine and Europe, but for the entire world.”

“The DPRK is significantly benefiting from receiving Russian military equipment, technology, and experience, rendering it more capable of waging war against its neighbors,” the Deputy US Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Camille Shea said. “In turn, the DPRK will likely be eager to leverage these improvements to promote weapons sales and military training contracts globally.”

“The participation of North Korean troops represents a dangerous escalation in what is already the largest European war since World War II, with potentially alarming implications for global security,” the Atlantic Council said in a recent statement. 

Their presence in fighting in Ukraine is a huge concern for Ukraine and its Allies. However, some of their troops are not sufficiently trained nor equipped for the frontline. The first North Korean soldiers were taken prisoner by Ukraine in early January. 

The captured North Korean soldier stated that some of his comrades were trained to operate heavy Russian military equipment, though he claimed not to have undergone such training himself. “I didn’t know before coming to Russia that I would be fighting here, in Russia,” the North Korean soldier claimed. “I didn’t even know who we were fighting against.”

More than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in Russia’s Kursk region. Last week, February 2025, the National Intelligence Service in Seoul confirmed that the North Korean troops had been pulled from the frontlines in Kursk in mid-January, the Guardian reported.

South Korean intelligence reported that despite the heavy losses, North Korea plans to send additional troops to Russia.

"As four months have passed for the dispatch of troops for the Russia-Ukraine war, and multiple casualties and captives have occurred, (North Korea) is suspected to be accelerating follow-up measures and preparation for an additional dispatch of troops," the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US said in a statement, Reuters reported.

“At this point, North Korea’s participation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine looks to be less about supporting Putin’s imperial ambitions and more about upgrading Kim Jong Un’s war machine,” the Atlantic Council said.