Western diplomatic sources in Moscow told NHK in mid-December that the idea to send North Korean troops to Russia originated in Pyongyang, not Moscow.

[JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF] U.S. intelligence agencies believe that North Korea's troop deployment to Russia was Pyongyang's idea, The New York Times reported Monday, although some Western officials thought Moscow had turned to the reclusive regime in ...

Zelensky warns of greater military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, including sending more troops and military equipment

North Korea and Russia are deepening their military cooperation, as Pyongyang ramps up the supply of arms to Moscow for its war in Ukraine and receives much needed cash and oil from the Kremlin in return.

Despite the relatively high casualty rate, Zelensky added that North Korea might send even more resources to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s armies.

South Korea's military has said that North Korea is preparing to continue aiding Russia in its war with Ukraine, despite casualties.

The Russian army went to war in Ukraine in February 2022 with around 2,000 tracked howitzers. In 34 months of brutal combat, the army has lost no fewer than 800 of these self-propelled artillery pieces to Ukrainian action. Hundreds more have been sidelined by a shortage of fresh gun barrels.

"Through various sources of information and intelligence, we assess that North Korean troops who have recently engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces have suffered around 1,100 casualties," the JCS said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said there have been more than 3,000 North Korean casualties in Russia's Kursk region.

North Korea has supplied Russia with thousands of troops to fight against Ukraine, intelligence officials said, but old footage that has resurfaced on social media does not show the funeral of a general deployed by Pyongyang to lead its troops in the ongoing invasion.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) units of the Russian Armed Forces provide support and escort for North Korean assault groups operating in the Kursk region.