Kim Pledges Unconditional Support for Russia as North Korea Deepens Military Ties

A Pledge Backed by Troops and Ammunition

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged "unconditional support" for Russia as the two countries deepen a partnership involving thousands of soldiers, millions of rounds of ammunition and a treaty promising military assistance if either country faces armed aggression.

During talks in Pyongyang with Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council and a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin, Kim promised support for Moscow on Ukraine and other international issues. The meeting took place at the headquarters of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party.

As of June 11, 2025, the relationship has become a source of concern for Western governments and North Korea's regional neighbors. Russia is gaining troops and weapons for its war against Ukraine, while North Korea is gaining a powerful diplomatic partner and, reportedly, military equipment and technical assistance.

Kim's declaration, carried by North Korean state media, extended beyond the war. The North Korean leader set out his government's position during his meeting with Shoigu:

unconditionally support the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues including the Ukrainian issue.

North Korea has become one of Russia's most steadfast allies during the conflict. Its backing now reaches beyond diplomatic statements into military operations, particularly in Russia's contested Kursk border region.

Both governments face international isolation and heavy sanctions. Their expanding cooperation gives each access to resources the other can provide, while creating new concerns about how a war in Europe could affect security in East Asia. For South Korea, the immediate issue is what North Korea may receive in exchange for helping Russia, and how that support could change its military capabilities.

How Many North Korean Soldiers Have Been Sent?

South Korean and Western intelligence estimates suggest that between 10,000 and 15,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia since late 2024. Further reinforcements were sent in early 2025.

The deployment represents North Korea's largest military involvement abroad in recent decades and has been described as unprecedented since the Korean War. North Korean troops have supported Russian operations, particularly in Kursk, where their involvement has become a public symbol of the alliance.

Shoigu thanked the North Korean soldiers for what he called their "matchless heroism and self-sacrificing spirit." Speaking for the Russian government, he described their role alongside Russian forces:

defended the precious part of the Russian territory as their own motherland, fighting shoulder to shoulder with Russian soldiers in the same trench.

Such direct military cooperation is rare in modern international relations. Sending troops places North Korea inside Russia's military effort and gives both governments a shared political stake in how those forces are used and remembered.

South Korean sources estimate that around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded. North Korea has publicly acknowledged losses, a rare admission that reflects the scale of its commitment. The precise total of soldiers deployed and casualties remains uncertain.

Millions of Rounds for Russia's War

North Korea's contribution also includes large quantities of weapons. It has supplied millions of rounds of artillery and rocket ammunition, along with ballistic missiles and heavy artillery systems.

A multilateral sanctions monitoring group comprising South Korea, the United States, Japan and eight other countries estimated that Russian flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as nine million rounds of mixed artillery and multiple rocket launcher ammunition from North Korea to Russia in 2024 alone.

Artillery ammunition is fired from large guns, while multiple rocket launchers can send several rockets toward targets in succession. Supplies for both help an army keep firing during a prolonged conflict.

Russia has fought in Ukraine for more than three years, using substantial military resources. North Korean ammunition and troops have helped offset that depletion. The additional shells and missiles have reportedly allowed Russian forces to maintain pressure on Ukrainian positions, particularly in border regions.

The shipments and deployments serve different needs within the same partnership. Ammunition sustains weapons already in use, while soldiers add manpower. Together, they make North Korea's support a practical part of Russia's war effort.

How the Partnership Became a Defense Commitment

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 brought sweeping Western sanctions and pushed Moscow to seek new allies and military supplies. North Korea was already under heavy United Nations sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program. Russia offered Pyongyang a powerful partner willing to defy international norms.

Putin made a rare visit to Pyongyang in 2024. He and Kim signed a comprehensive military cooperation treaty that included a mutual defense clause, promising immediate military assistance if either country faced armed aggression.

A mutual defense clause is a commitment by two countries to help defend one another under specified circumstances. In this case, the treaty formalized an increasingly close working relationship that already involved North Korean weapons and, subsequently, troops.

The main developments unfolded across several years:

• 2022: Russia invaded Ukraine, faced sweeping Western sanctions and sought new partners and military supplies.
• 2024: Putin visited Pyongyang and signed a military cooperation treaty with Kim, including a mutual defense clause.
• 2024: Russian flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as nine million rounds of North Korean artillery and rocket ammunition, according to the sanctions monitoring group.
• Late 2024: North Korean soldiers began deploying to Russia, according to South Korean and Western intelligence estimates.
• Early 2025: North Korea sent additional reinforcements.
• April 2025: North Korea unveiled its first naval destroyer, the Choe Hyon.
• June 2025: Kim's latest pledge to Shoigu reinforced the partnership as South Korea began a new presidency.

Russia has reportedly offered economic aid, technical assistance and advanced military technology in exchange for North Korean support. That exchange links Moscow's immediate wartime needs with Pyongyang's longer pursuit of stronger armed forces.

What North Korea Gains From Russia

Russia is believed to have provided North Korea with air defense equipment, anti-aircraft missiles and possibly advanced electronic warfare systems. Air defense equipment helps protect against attacks from the air. Electronic warfare systems use electronic signals to interfere with an opponent's equipment.

Access to advanced Russian military technology could also improve North Korea's missile and nuclear programs. Western officials are concerned that sophisticated transfers could accelerate the development of nuclear weapons and the systems used to deliver them.

North Korea unveiled the Choe Hyon, its first naval destroyer, in April 2025. Experts believe the ship was built with Russian assistance. The development has added to concerns that cooperation with Moscow could produce a more capable and more assertive North Korean military.

Russia also offers diplomatic backing at the United Nations Security Council, where it can veto or block new sanctions. For Pyongyang, that support matters alongside any equipment or financial assistance it receives.

North Korean soldiers may gain experience in modern combat that could improve the capabilities of the Korean People's Army. The army has not fought in a major conflict since the 1950s. Experience gained in Russia could therefore influence its training and operations at home.

Those gains come with human and political costs. The reported deaths and injuries mean that North Korea's commitment involves substantial losses, while its military exchanges with Russia expose both governments to further international pressure.

Why the Alliance Faces Legal Objections

The United States, South Korea, Japan and several European countries have condemned the partnership as "unlawful" and a flagrant violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Those resolutions prohibit transfers of arms and military technology to and from North Korea as part of efforts to curb its nuclear weapons program. The objections therefore concern both the weapons North Korea sends to Russia and the military equipment and technology it may receive in return.

Sanctions restrict access to goods, money or other resources to pressure a government to change its behavior. Military trade between Russia and North Korea weakens that pressure by giving each government another route to supplies and assistance.

Western officials have warned that the partnership could undermine the effectiveness of international sanctions and encourage other authoritarian governments to disregard global norms. The United States and its allies have called for renewed diplomatic efforts to isolate both countries and prevent further transfers of military technology.

Russia's position on the Security Council complicates those efforts. Moscow is simultaneously North Korea's military partner and a country with the power to block new sanctions at the body responsible for maintaining the restrictions.

A New South Korean President Offers Dialogue

The latest Kim-Shoigu meeting coincided with the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. Lee, a liberal politician, has signaled a willingness to reopen dialogue with North Korea, departing from the approach of his hawkish predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.

In his inaugural address, Lee combined a commitment to deterrence with an offer of communication. He pledged to:

deter North Korean nuclear and military provocations while opening communication channels and pursuing dialogue and cooperation to build peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Deterrence means trying to prevent an attack by making clear that it would bring a strong response. Lee's statement paired that security position with an effort to create space for talks.

North Korean state media gave only a brief mention to Lee's inauguration. Pyongyang had not responded to his calls for dialogue, leaving the new South Korean government's opening without an answer.

Russia's growing role adds another difficulty for Seoul. North Korea now has a partner that can provide material assistance and diplomatic support, potentially making it more willing to resist international pressure while South Korea seeks renewed engagement.

How Ukraine's War Is Reaching Asian Diplomacy

French President Emmanuel Macron brought the connection between European and Asian security into focus at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He suggested that NATO could become involved in Asia if China did not pressure North Korea to halt its support for Russia.

North Korean analyst Choe Ju Hyun rejected Macron's remarks as "shocking claptrap" and accused NATO of seeking to expand its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The exchange showed how North Korea's role in the Ukraine war is becoming part of a wider dispute over security in Asia. European governments are concerned about support reaching Russia, while Pyongyang portrays greater Western involvement in the region as a threat.

The United States and its allies are seeking to contain Russia and North Korea. Their closer alliance has increased concern that the conflict in Ukraine could draw in more actors and raise the risk of wider confrontation in the Asia-Pacific.

China is also part of that diplomatic picture. Macron's comments called on Beijing to use its influence, while North Korea's increasingly close relationship with Russia gives Pyongyang another major partner beyond its longstanding ties with China.

A Shift in North Korea's Alliances

North Korea has provided limited military assistance to allies before, including during the Vietnam War and in Africa. Since the Korean War ended in 1953, however, its main military focus has been defending its own territory and developing a nuclear deterrent.

The scale of its current involvement alongside Russia is unusual in the period since the Cold War. Sending thousands of troops and large quantities of ammunition marks a substantial expansion beyond those earlier, limited overseas commitments.

During the Cold War, North Korea relied on support from both the Soviet Union and China. Its present alliance with Russia recalls that division into rival political and military blocs, although the relationship now rests heavily on Russia's needs in Ukraine.

Relations between North Korea and China have cooled in recent years as Beijing has grown wary of Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions and unpredictable behavior. Russia, by contrast, has become an increasingly important source of political cover and material support.

With Russian backing, North Korea may feel more able to resist outside pressure and pursue its military ambitions. That would complicate efforts by South Korea, the United States and other countries to engage Pyongyang and reduce tensions.

What Both Governments Have Signaled Next

Russia and North Korea have signaled their intention to "dynamically expand" their relationship. Further military, economic and technological cooperation is likely as both governments continue to face isolation from the West.

Russian officials have indicated plans to commemorate North Korean soldiers' contributions in the rebuilding of Kursk. There is also speculation that Putin may host Kim in Moscow for a summit, but no date has been given.

North Korea sees the partnership as a lifeline amid economic hardship and international sanctions. Russia receives manpower and ammunition as its war continues. Those immediate benefits give both governments reasons to sustain the relationship.

The partnership also brings continuing risks: further North Korean combat losses, technology transfers that could accelerate its nuclear program, and the possibility of additional international sanctions. China, South Korea and the United States will be important to how the relationship develops and how other governments respond.

Key Points

• Kim Jong Un pledged unconditional support for Russia on Ukraine and other major international issues during talks with Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang.
• South Korean and Western intelligence estimates put North Korean deployments to Russia at between 10,000 and 15,000 soldiers since late 2024, with reinforcements in early 2025.
• A sanctions monitoring group estimated that North Korea supplied as many as nine million rounds of artillery and rocket ammunition in 2024 alone.
• A treaty signed by Kim and Putin in 2024 promises immediate military assistance if either country faces armed aggression.
• South Korean sources estimate around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands wounded.
• Russia is believed to have supplied air defense equipment and anti-aircraft missiles, with possible electronic warfare assistance.
• The United States, South Korea, Japan and European partners say the cooperation violates United Nations sanctions.
• South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has offered dialogue, but North Korea has not responded to his appeal.