National Security Notebook | Number 19, August 5, 2026
Pyongyang doubles down on Putin.
Although you might not have noticed, North Korea’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine is poised to get bigger. A lot bigger.
The Kremlin is reportedly preparing to deploy another 30,000 North Korean troops to the battlefield, while also taking delivery of more North Korean missile launchers and other military equipment. If this new tranche of assistance from the Kim regime materializes, as Ukrainian officials believe it will, the move would represent a significant expansion of Pyongyang’s involvement in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.
The timing isn’t coincidental. It follows a four-day visit to Moscow last month by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, in which she held talks with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Those meetings underscored just how far the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang has evolved and strengthened in recent years.
As part of these blossoming ties, North Korea already dispatched an estimated 20,000 troops and military engineers in support of Russia’s war effort. A new deployment of 30,000 more would truly make the DPRK an essential ally in sustaining Russia’s aggression.
It would also help the Kremlin with its vexing manpower problem, at least temporarily. That dynamic has plagued Putin’s war of choice since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and has now reached a point where Russia’s government has no choice but to implement large-scale conscription this Fall to maintain battlefield pressure on Ukrainian defenses. (I wrote about this recently for Newsweek here). The infusion of North Korean troops means that pressure to take such a step—which is sure to be deeply unpopular at home—is somewhat allayed, at least for a little while.
So, what’s in it for the DPRK? The Kim regime potentially stands to gain hard currency, advanced military technology, and combat experience for its forces—those that manage to survive, that is. Chances are, not many will. Infantry troops on the Russian front lines are said to have a notoriously short life expectancy (something like 20 to 30 minutes).
Still, North Korea is clearly betting that Russia’s president plans to stay the course in Ukraine—and that supporting him in doing so will end up paying strategic dividends for the “Hermit Kingdom.”