North Korea boosts support for Russia to include drone operators, Ukraine says

Kyiv — A new wave of North Korean troops, already numbering 8,500 in Russia, contains a drone unit that could attack targets inside Ukraine, according to a senior Ukrainian intelligence official. North Korea, who signed a NATO-style mutual defense pact with Russia two years ago, has been sending troops to assist Moscow’s military operations since late 2024 and may be asked to contribute up to 50,000 more when President Vladimir Putin meets his counterpart Kim Jong Un in September, according to Major General Vadym Skibitskiy, Deputy Head of Ukrainian Defense Intelligence.

Such a move would mark a significant expansion of Moscow and Pyongyang’s military cooperation and comes as Ukraine is running painfully short of air defenses. It is another sign that Russia’s resources are stretched thin and welcoming to assistance, despite public statements of their economic resilience and military-industrial capacity. Skibitskiy said the North Korean troops already deployed are spread mostly in Russia’s Kursk region and include a thousand engineers and deminers. They also comprise 400 drone operators, many of whom have gained experience either in or from previous North Korean deployments, and whose drones will likely be used to both survey and attack targets inside Ukraine. North Korea’s deepening ties with Russia are troubling many in the NATO alliance, particularly after President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that military drills with South Korea would be scaled down so as not to antagonize Kim Jong Un - the reclusive North Korean leader whom Trump is eager to meet with again. Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, denied claims that tens of thousands more North Koreans would soon join Russia’s efforts, calling it a “groundless self-fabricated scenario.” Ukrainian intelligence suggests North Korean troops sent to Russia will not fight on Ukrainian territory, Skibitskiy said, but will reinforce Russia’s rear positions, freeing up Russian troops for assaults inside Ukraine.