Why North Korea will keep backing Russia in the Ukraine war
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- North Korea signed a mutual defense treaty with Russia in June 2024 and has since deployed approximately 14,000 elite troops along with thousands of military engineers to support Moscow's war efforts.
- In exchange, Pyongyang receives battlefield experience and access to advanced military technology, though financial compensation from Russia has reportedly been limited.
- Pyongyang appears to value the partnership primarily as a strategic counterbalance to China, a calculus analysts say transforms the arrangement into a long-term investment rather than a transactional deal.
- Kim Jong Un has gone too far to reverse course, according to analysts, with ongoing military cooperation between the two countries locking in the alliance.
- Discussions are underway that could result in North Korea sending an additional 30,000 soldiers to Russia.
Why it matters: The June 2024 mutual defense treaty and 14,000 North Korean troops already in theater transform the war's manpower equation while giving Kim Jong Un a rare window to harvest battlefield data and advanced weapons tech from a major power. Analysts' framing of Pyongyang's calculus as a hedge against Beijing — rather than a cash-for-cannon arrangement — suggests the partnership will outlast any single campaign in Ukraine.
