• North Korean troops are engaged in combat against Ukrainian forces, the White House said.
• They've had a rough start, and seem to lack experience with drones and working with Russians.
• This has led to reported losses, but analysts said they should be able to learn to adapt.

North Korean troops have engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region, with media and intelligence reports suggesting they're off to a rough start.

Footage obtained by Radio Liberty on Monday showed Ukraine striking a group of soldiers, with sources telling the outlet that North Koreans were among them.

The same day, Ukrainian officials and soldiers told The Washington Post that North Korea's troops were operating in big groups out in the open, and were getting killed by drones they didn't realize were dangerous.

A senior US military official said this week that North Korea's dead and wounded could now be counted in the hundreds.

Military analysts told BI that, while the limited number of early reports makes it difficult to give a definitive assessment, they're not surprised by the reports.

"The North Koreans are taking apparently unnecessary casualties as they are rushed into combat without a period of training on the unique threats here," said Wallace Gregson, a former US Marine Corps officer and former assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs.

Uncharted territory

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that North Korean troops had moved to the front lines and were "actively engaged in combat operations."

Evans Revere, a senior advisor with Albright Stonebridge Group, said that while North Korean troops seemed "disciplined" and "tough," their lack of experience in ground combat and unfamiliarity with drone warfare was taking its toll.

He said that the reported casualty numbers suggest that North Korean forces are in the "thick of heavy fighting" and that "if the North Koreans continue to suffer casualties at this rate, they will very soon require fresh forces."

Revere also said their lack of Russian language and absence of experience in training and operating jointly with Russian forces seemed to be a problem.

On Saturday, Ukrainian intelligence said North Korean troops opened fire on Russian military vehicles, killing eight soldiers, due to a language barrier between the two forces.

Too early, too inexperienced

The last time North Korean troops really fought was during the Korean War, where fighting ended in 1953.

Gregson said that this time around, Russia may have thrown North Korean troops to the front in earlier waves of attacks, which he said usually include the "least-trained" soldiers.

He told BI that "high casualties" weren't unexpected, given their light infantry capabilities and the likely language barrier.

However, he said you needed to respect their "apparent courage and determination — and sacrifice — in a conflict not of their choosing far from their home."

Military analysts also said that the North Korean troops could soon adapt to the new battlefield conditions.

Revere said it won't be long before the North Koreans learn how to operate in this environment.

However, he said it's "still not clear" how well Russian and North Korean troops are operating in tandem, or whether Russian commanders are providing good leadership and guidance.

The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update on Thursday that Russian and North Korean forces were "almost certainly" experiencing difficulties, with North Korean troops struggling to integrate into Russia's command and control structure.

Another major issue is their unfamiliarity with modern battlefield warfare.

John Hardie, the deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said the evidence so far suggests North Korean troops were unprepared for the drone threat.

But, he said, "I suspect they'll adapt with time and may have started doing so already."

Covering up deaths

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia has been trying to conceal North Korean deaths. In a nightly address on Monday, he claimed that Russian forces were burning the faces of killed soldiers to conceal their identity.

Revere said attempts to cover up the deaths were likely part of Russia's effort to avoid admitting to the Russian people that the country lacks the ability to defeat Ukraine by itself.

North Korea has also often been the object of ridicule in Russia, he added, "so for the Russians to have to admit their need for DPRK support would be embarrassing."

For North Korea, the stakes are also high.

Bruce W. Bennett, a defense researcher and North Korea specialist at RAND, said that Kim Jong Un is taking risks by sending troops to support Russia, especially potential elite-class military personnel.

He said that Kim is unlikely to want to return the bodies of those killed to their families, fearing potential instability inside North Korea.

"Kim will likely prefer that the soldiers who are killed simply disappear," he said.

• North Korean troops don't realize drones are dangerous and are sitting ducks, Ukraine troops said.
• They have engaged in combat against Ukrainian troops in Kursk, per US and Ukraine officials.
• A couple hundred were killed or wounded in combat in the Kursk region, a US official said.

Ukrainian officials and soldiers told The Washington Post that North Korea's troops are frequently getting killed by drones they don't seem to consider dangerous.

The accounts point to an apparent gap in the knowledge of the troops sent by Kim Jong Un to support Russia's invasion.

The prevalence and effectiveness of drones is a defining feature of the war in Ukraine, and experienced soldiers there have described to Business Insider a widespread fear of them.

But North Korea's troops are new to the war, separated by a language barrier, and appear not to have the same approach.

Three Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the Kursk region of Russia told the Post that waves of what seemed to be North Korean forces advanced directly at Ukrainian positions defended by drones and other weapons.

"We were very surprised; we had never seen anything like it — 40 to 50 people running across a field," one drone commander told the Post.

"FPV drones, artillery, and other weapons struck them because they were moving in the open field," he said. "You can imagine the result."

Another drone operator, Artem, told the outlet that instead of running away from the drones, the North Korean troops shot at them "indiscriminately," while others just kept moving. Many were killed, he said.

During a nighttime drone operation, Artem said he recognized three soldiers based on their heat signatures on a thermal camera and anticipated killing only one — but when the other two failed to react fast enough, he and his comrades struck all three.

He described the experience as "bizarre," adding, "It was the first time it felt like playing a computer simulator on easy mode."

On Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said North Korean troops had moved to the front lines and were "actively engaged in combat operations."

During a press briefing that same day, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said they had indications that North Korean soldiers engaged in combat in Kursk had suffered losses.

At least 30 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded during assault operations near the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, and Martynovka in or near the Kursk region last weekend, Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR) said on Monday.

A couple hundred North Korean troops were killed or wounded in combat in the Kursk region, a senior military official told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the GUR said North Korean troops had set up extra observation posts, fearing Ukrainian drone attacks after suffering serious losses.

• Ukraine said that North Korean troops had accidentally killed 8 Russian soldiers in Kursk.
• Ukrainian intelligence said it was a "friendly fire" incident caused by a language barrier.
• Experts previously told BI that language issues would pose a challenge for the military alliance.

Eight Russian soldiers were killed by North Korean forces in a recent "friendly fire" incident in Kursk, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

North Korean soldiers opened fire on Russian military vehicles, Defense Intelligence of Ukraine said on Saturday, attributing it to a language barrier between the two forces.

It didn't say when the incident took place, but added that language barriers continue to be a "difficult obstacle" for Russian and North Korean personnel, per The Kyiv Independent's translation.

Business Insider could not independently verify the report.

North Korea has sent thousands of troops to aid Russia in its fight against Ukraine, officials from South Korea, Ukraine, and the US have said.

Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine's ambassador to South Korea, told Voice of America last month that the number could reach 15,000, with troops rotated out every two to three months. He said a cumulative 100,000 North Korean soldiers could serve in Russia within a year.

Experts on the relationship between the two states have previously said that the language difference between North Korean and Russian soldiers would be a key logistical issue.

Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., an expert in North Korean defense at the Center for International and Strategic Studies, told BI that though the two countries have historical ties, they rarely learn each other's language.

"To conduct combat operations with an allied force that doesn't speak your language presents real problems," he said.

North Korean soldiers have been sent to aid Russian forces in Kursk, an area of Russia that was partially occupied by Ukraine in August.

The North Korean soldiers are reported to have been scattered across various Russian units and had already come under Ukrainian fire as of early November.

Audio intercepted by Defense Intelligence of Ukraine in October suggested a chaotic start to the Russia-North Korea partnership, not least because of language difficulties.

In the intercepted audio, a Russian soldier complained about leaders having "no fucking clue" what to do with the new troops and remarked that they had been allocated one interpreter per 30 soldiers.

The soldiers reportedly killed in the friendly fire incident were from the Ahmat battalion, Ukrainian intelligence said — a group under the control of Chechen warlord and Putin loyalist Ramzan Kadyrov.

"Kadyorovites," as they are known, have been fighting in Kursk since August, according to reports.

Ukraine initially seized a large swathe of Kursk in its surprise cross-border raid — around 500 square miles — but Russian forces have retaken about 40% of that land, a senior Ukrainian military source told Reuters in late November.

• Ukraine is making videos and dropping leaflets on North Korean troops to get them to surrender.
• North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to help Russia in its war against Ukraine, per sources.
• "Many see it as a chance to escape the regime," the project's spokesman told Euronews.

Ukraine is trying to persuade North Korean soldiers to surrender rather than fight alongside Russia.

Ukrainian intelligence services have been distributing leaflets via drones and projectiles, and making videos urging North Korean troops to desert, according to Euronews.

Vitality Matvienko, spokesperson for the "I Want to Live" project, told Euronews that "of course, not everyone wants to fight."

"We know very well the living conditions in North Korea," he said. "Therefore, many see it as a chance to escape the regime and go to another country."

Ukraine is carrying out its efforts under "I Want to Live," a service that has facilitated Russian soldiers' surrender. In October 2022, Russia blocked access to its hotline and chatbot, though it is still accessible in the country via VPN.

North Korea has sent thousands of troops to aid Russia in its fight against Ukraine, per officials from South Korea, Ukraine, and the US.

Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine's ambassador to South Korea, told Voice of America last month that the number could reach 15,000, with troops rotated out every two to three months, with a cumulative 100,000 North Korean soldiers serving in Russia within a year.

Ukraine's "I Want to Live" project told Business Insider the leaflets state that Kim Il Sung — North Korea's founder — does not want North Korean soldiers to fight for Russian "imperialists."

The leaflets also contain step-by-step instructions on how to surrender, with guarantees and benefits for those prisoners of war, it said.

It declined to disclose other methods being used to convince North Korean troops to surrender.

"I Want to Live" posted a video on its Telegram channel earlier this month showing a North Korean volunteer in the Ukrainian armed forces calling on his countrymen to take their chance.

"We will not just welcome you but help you start a new life," he said. "Support, work, and the opportunity to live a decent life are waiting for you here. Even money, so you can start your way with a clean slate."

The text accompanying the video said Ukraine guaranteed all prisoners humane treatment. "Far away from 'Big Brother,' who watches over all the inhabitants of North Korea, it is a sin not to take advantage of this unique opportunity," it said.

In October, Ukraine's military intelligence agency put out a statement with the promise of providing comfortable beds and warm meals to North Korean soldiers who surrendered.

It also published a Korean-language video showcasing its prisoner-of-war camps, as well as the meals served there.

Last month, South Korean intelligence estimated that Russia was paying about $2,000 a month for each soldier.

But Bruce W. Bennett, a defense researcher and North Korea specialist at RAND, told BI that he suspects the money is going directly to North Korea's ruling elite.

"Perhaps only a small amount or even nothing" will go to the soldiers themselves, he said.

• North Korea has called South Korea a 'fascistic dictatorship' after its short-lived martial law.
• South Korea has democratic elections, while Kim Jong Un exerts near-total control over North Korea.
• An article in North Korean state media also referred to South Korea's president as a "puppet."

North Korea has called South Korea a dictatorship after the latter's short-lived attempt at martial law.

Last week, South Korea's president, Yoon Suk-yeol, declared martial law in the country in a surprise announcement, citing the need to eliminate "anti-state" forces.

The unexpected decision was met with widespread protests, and hours later South Korea's parliament voted down the measure. Yoon's government quickly rescinded it.

In an article published by North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency on Wednesday, the situation in South Korea was characterized as "pandemonium."

It referred to Yoon as a "puppet" who proclaimed martial law "in a bid to escape from the worst ruling crisis."

Kim Jong Un exerts near-total control over North Korea's population, using extensive surveillance, state-run media, suppressing dissent, and offering no real choice in elections.

The article also criticized South Korea as a "fascist dictatorship," which it said was under the watch of the international community.

In reality, North Korea is widely regarded as a global pariah due to Kim's authoritarian governance, whereas South Korea is recognized as a democratic nation.

According to Freedom House's Freedom in the World rankings, South Korea scores 83 out of 100. In contrast, North Korea scores just 3 out of 100 and is designated "not free."

Martial law is no longer in place in South Korea, and Yoon is now under investigation for treason, with a travel ban preventing him from leaving the country.

But over the weekend an attempt to impeach Yoon narrowly failed after many lawmakers from his ruling People Power Party boycotted the vote. The main opposition party is expected to continue its impeachment efforts.

During the political chaos that rocked South Korea last week, there were concerns that North Korea might exploit the turmoil, using a moment of weakness to its advantage.

Business Insider reported that this could take the form of propaganda designed to erode trust in democracy in South Korea.

• South Korea was in chaos on Tuesday after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law.
• Yoon reversed course hours after invoking the law and now faces being impeached.
• South Korea's foe, North Korea, could seek to exploit the turmoil.

Kim Jong Un, North Korea's emboldened leader, is likely watching the events in South Korea closely and may use the turmoil to his benefit.

"We know that North Korea likes to lampoon South Korea's democratic system whenever there is tumult in Seoul," Edward Howell, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford to CNN.

"We should not be surprised if Pyongyang exploits the domestic crisis in South Korea to its advantage, either rhetorically or otherwise," he added.

It comes after South Korea, long one of the US' most important Asian allies, was tipped into political chaos on Tuesday when its president, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared martial law.

Yoon reversed course six hours later after lawmakers blocked the declaration. Calls for the president's resignation are now growing.

All six opposition parties filed an impeachment motion on Wednesday, with a vote set for Friday or Saturday, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Yoon said the declaration was necessary to prevent subversion by North Korea, South Korea's longtime enemy, but it's likely he was seeking to quash domestic opposition and bolster his power.

How North Korea may respond

North Korea may decide it's "a great time to take advantage of this weakness to deal another blow to him through some type of provocation," Sydney Seiler, who until last year was the national intelligence officer for North Korea on the US National Intelligence Council, told VOA.

The unrest comes at a time of heightened tensions in East Asia.

South Korea has long been backed by the US, which has 30,000 troops stationed in the republic, in its decadeslong frozen war with North Korea.

But North Korea, fuelled by Russian money and goods after backing the Kremlin's Ukraine invasion, is becoming more assertive and more aggressive.

It's escalating its threats toward South Korea, while ally China menaces US ally Taiwan with invasion.

Meanwhile, the US is seeking to bolster its democratic allies in the region to deter aggression by the axis of authoritarian states. It was reportedly caught off guard by Yoon's declaration on Tuesday but sought to project unwavering support for South Korean security as the turmoil unfolded.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on Tuesday said the US commitment to South Korean security remained "ironclad."

"We're watching the recent developments in the ROK [Republic of Korea] with grave concern," Campbell said. "We're seeking to engage our ROK counterparts at every level both here and in Seoul."

Kim could use the crisis to intimidate and undermine its neighbor, and drive a wedge between South Korea and the US, say analysts.

Seiler told VOA that Kim "may see President [Yoon]'s actions as straining that relationship."

It could also take the form of propaganda designed to erode trust in democracy and government stability in South Korea.

US support may act as a deterrent

Not everyone agrees that there will be much action from North Korea, however. For one thing, US support for South Korea may act as a significant deterrent.

"North Korea is very likely to seek to capitalize politically. But the South Korea-US alliance is robust, with the two main political parties and 90% of South Koreans supporting it," Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Head of Department of European and International Studies at SOAS, told Business Insider.

David Welch, University Research Chair and Professor of Political Science, University of Waterloo, told Newsweek that Kim is likely "rubbing his hands with glee" but said he was not in a good position to respond.

"I would expect some rhetorical gloating about the superiority of North Korea's political system, but not much else," he said.

• South Korea's president, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared martial law in a shock address on Tuesday.
• He expressed frustration with paralyzing opposition forces within the government.
• After hours of civil unrest, Yoon rescinded the order, but many are calling for his resignation.

In a stunning move that threw the nation into turmoil, South Korea's president, Yoon Suk Yeol, invoked martial law on Tuesday, only to reverse course six hours later.

The decree, which brought temporary military control and the suspension of civilian government activities and civil liberties, marked South Korea's first declaration of martial law since the country's democratization in 1987.

The last time that a South Korean leader declared martial law was in 1979, in the aftermath of the assassination of the president.

The resulting turmoil in this instance could be felt for some time.

Calls are growing for the president's resignation. All six opposition parties filed an impeachment motion on Wednesday, with a vote set for Friday or Saturday, according to the Yonhap news agency.

After Yoon ordered martial law, South Korea's parliament voted unanimously to block the decree, declaring the move invalid, but martial law remained in effect.

Yoon announced he would lift martial law and withdraw troops the following day. The Joint Chiefs of Staff then said that the deployed troops had returned to their original units. In the aftermath, Yoon's cabinet approved the reversal.

But the reversal of the order wasn't enough to stymie economic anxieties that arose out of the unrest. On Wednesday, South Korea's Kospi Index closed 1.4% lower. The won fell to its lowest level since October 2022 but trimmed losses in Asian hours.

Companies in the country, including South Korea's SK Group, a conglomerate of semiconductor and energy businesses, and Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai, were hosting emergency executive meetings in the early morning hours on Wednesday, per Bloomberg.

"We are concerned that these events could impact South Korea's sovereign credit rating, although this is uncertain at this stage," wrote Min Joo Kan, ING Economics' senior economist in Seoul, in a research note.

The leader of Yoon's party said that the ruling party feels "deeply sorry to the public," adding that "the president must directly and thoroughly explain this tragic situation" and that those who called for martial law should be held accountable.

Yoon's entire cabinet and all of his aides have offered to resign, according to local reports.

Meanwhile, the country's largest labor union, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, is on indefinite strike, demanding Yoon's resignation, which could hurt production.

On Wednesday, thousands gathered for protest rallies across the country, including outside South Korea's national assembly.

Why did Yoon declare martial law?

Yoon indicated the move was necessary to counter North Korea, but the move appears to be at least partly political.

In a televised address, he spoke of "anti-state forces," saying martial law was necessary to eliminate them quickly and "normalize the country." He also criticized the country's opposition politicians, responding to a series of political setbacks that have frustrated his agenda.

Yoon has suffered from low approval ratings this year and has been described by critics as a "lame-duck president," as he holds the nation's highest office without having a majority in its legislature.

Yoon's conservative People Power Party lost a general election in April, in which the rival Democratic Party of Korea took 175 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly.

The opposition majority in parliament last week voted to cut almost $3 billion from Yoon's 2025 budget, undermining his plans. They have also tried to impeach three top prosecutors, The Associated Press reported.

Even as he reversed his martial law decision, Yoon continued to criticize those he saw as frustrating his agenda, requesting in a later address that the National Assembly "immediately stop its reckless actions that paralyze the functions of the state through repeated impeachment, legislative manipulation, and budget manipulation."

The decision to invoke martial law led to parliamentary activity being prohibited, according to the country's government-funded Yonhap news agency. Anyone who violated the rules could have been arrested without a warrant.

The outlet also said that media and publishers fell under the control of South Korea's military.

The provisions of martial law also allowed for the suspension of certain civil liberties.

What has been the political reaction?

Yoon's late-night announcement prompted protests outside parliament, with some trying to climb its walls. There was also intense criticism of Yoon for short-circuiting the country's democracy.

Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party, said imposing martial law was "wrong" and that he would "stop it with the people."

South Korea's main opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, described the move as unconstitutional.

Yoon was already an unpopular leader in Korea. Gallup's latest poll, released last week, showed his approval rating falling to 19%, per a poll of 1,000 adults.

The unexpected declaration of martial law was also said to have caught the Biden administration by surprise.

South Korea is a key US ally in the Indo-Pacific region and is a base for roughly 28,500 American service members, as well as numerous civilian workers and dependents.

"We continue to expect political disagreements to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement after the martial law was rescinded.

How has the economy been affected?

Markets reacted immediately to South Korea's political crisis, with US-listed Korean stocks and the South Korean won taking a hit in overnight trade.

While shares of Samsung Electronics, the country's largest company, dropped 3% before paring losses, South Korea's Kospi Index fell 2.2% and closed 1.4% lower on Wednesday.

South Korean authorities have rushed to reassure investors.

The country's finance ministry said on Wednesday it was standing ready to deploy all necessary measures to stabilize the financial markets.

"We will inject unlimited liquidity into stocks, bonds, short-term money market as well as forex market for the time being until they are fully normalised," the ministry said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Kim Byung-hwan, the chairman of South Korea's Financial Services Commission, said the government was ready to activate a $35.4 billion stock market stabilization fund immediately and take other measures to address market concerns if needed.

But Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea, told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday evening local time that South Korea's financial markets were stabilizing quickly and that the impact on markets was short-lived.

He added that he believed South Korea's economic dynamics can be separated from its political dynamics.

Even so, a few hours later, the OECD lowered South Korea's 2025 growth economic outlook to 2.1%, from 2.2%.

One notable stock surge amid all the turmoil: Kakao, and subsidiaries Kakaopay and KakaoBank, were up on Wednesday. Billionaire founder Brian Kim was arrested in July on charges of manipulating a major K-pop agency deal last year.

• Russia is treating the first North Koreans sent to fight alongside it well, Ukraine's president said.
• But Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this was about trying to get more of them to come to fight.
• Ultimately they will be used as "cannon fodder," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia is treating the first batch of North Korean soldiers sent to aid in its war against Ukraine well, but that it won't last.

Zelenskyy told Japanese news agency Kyodo News on Sunday that Russia was treating the North Korean troops well in order to try to attract tens of thousands more.

But he predicted that the troops would at some stage be sent to the front lines and that it was "indisputable" that Russian President Vladimir Putin would ultimately use them as "cannon fodder."

Officials in the US, Ukraine, and South Korea claim that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to aid Russia.

Zelenskyy said there is evidence that about 12,000 North Korean troops have been deployed so far, and Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine's ambassador to South Korea, said last month that the number of North Korean troops sent to Russia could reach 15,000, with troops rotated out every two to three months.

That could mean around 100,000 North Korean soldiers serving in Russia within a year, he said.

North Korean troops have been deployed in the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine made a surprise counteroffensive in August, seizing hundreds of square miles of Russian territory.

Zelenskyy said during the interview with Kyodo News that North Korean troops had been killed there, confirming previous reports.

In June, the Pentagon warned that North Korean troops would be treated poorly by Russia, in response to initial reports that North Korea was considering sending Russia some of its military personnel.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at the time that "if I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my choices on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine."

Russia has been accused of treating its own soldiers badly during the conflict.

Zelenskyy also warned Sunday that the use of North Korean troops during the conflict could be dangerous for Asia, since those soldiers would get trained by Russia and would get knowledge about fighting in a modern war, in areas like using drones.

Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at Ukraine's National Institute for Strategic Studies, told BI that even if the soldiers North Korea sends are well trained by their own standards, "I think their training still would be lacking in terms of the modern battlefield they have in the Russia-Ukraine war."

He added: "I think that it's safe to assume that they might be used as expendable infantry or just thrown as a mass of people."

Bielieskov also said that while the estimated number of up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers in Kursk right now was not huge by the standards of the war, it might be enough to make a difference against Ukraine on a single front, if that's how they are used.

Last month, South Korea's defense minister, Kim Yong-Hyun, said that North Korean troops would likely be sent to the war's hot spots.

He said that Russian officers are "likely to send the North Korean platoons to the most dangerous and difficult areas."

According to South Korean intelligence, Russia is paying about $2,000 a month for each North Korean soldier.

But North Korean military experts told BI that the soldiers themselves are not likely to see much of that, with the state likely pocketing most, if not all, of the money.

• Trump has boasted about his chemistry with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
• The President-elect likely believes he can cajole and pressurize the dictator again.
• But this time North Korea's more powerful, and Kim has options.

Donald Trump has long reminisced about the unlikely bromance he formed with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un while president.

On the campaign trail, he claimed the North Korean leader missed him and said that relations would improve once he returned to power.

Kim hasn't been so enthusiastic. At a defense expo in Pyongyang this week, he accused the US of an "unchanging aggressive and hostile policy" toward North Korea that has placed the world in the "most chaotic and violent" state since World War II.

His comments suggest that Trump will find Kim a much tougher and more emboldened character to deal with this time around.

The stakes couldn't be higher, with North Korea providing Russia with vital support for its war in Ukraine, and menacing its neighbors with rhetoric and weapons tests.

"Trump comes into his second term with a weaker hand than he had in 2017," Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst with the Eurasia Group, focused on China and northeastern Asia, told Business Insider.

A relationship gone sour 

Trump is seeking to gear up his relationship with Kim again, with Reuters reporting Wednesday that he will likely seek new direct talks when he takes office.

However, Kim has long harbored a grudge against the President-elect, according to Bruce Bennet, an analyst with the RAND Corporation.

The grudge goes back to the 2019 Hanoi conference with Trump, where the pair engaged in one of the first face-to-face meetings between a North Korean leader and US president in history. There, Kim overplayed his hand, and Trump walked out.

"Kim was furious and many of his people who had helped arrange the meeting paid severe prices," said Bennet.

"I think it is unlikely that Kim Jong-un will meet with Trump, even if Trump pursues that possibility unless Trump is prepared to offer some serious concessions before the meeting."

Kim breaks North Korea's isolation

As Trump returns to power, the world is a more complex and dangerous place, and Kim has profited.

Back in 2017, when Trump took office, North Korea faced almost total international isolation as the UN imposed sweeping sanctions to pressure the state to dismantle its nuclear program. 

Sanctions were a powerful tool as Trump sought to place further "maximum pressure" on Kim. 

That's no longer the case. Kim has leveraged the Russian invasion of Ukraine to break North Korea's isolation, brokering a deal with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

In exchange for thousands of North Korean troops and millions of artillery rounds for his Ukraine invasion, Putin has provided North Korea with food, oil, and technology.

Meanwhile, Russia has used its permanent place on the UN Security Council to stymie the sanctions enforcement program.

Since Russia's 2022 Ukraine invasion, Kim has also been taking bigger risks, said Chan, aggressively confronting longtime foe South Korea and menacing the US and its allies with long-range missile tests.

Trump has pledged to end the Ukraine war, possibly by handing Ukrainian territory to Russia.

Critics say a lenient position on Russian aggression further emboldens North Korea.

"It will be interesting to see how the new administration reconciles a more lenient position on Russian aggression —now enabled by North Korean troops and material — with continued efforts toward the rollback of the North Korean nuclear program," said Daniel Salisbury, a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Science & Security Studies at King's College London.

Trump's gambit 

The President-elect does have some advantages in dealing with North Korea's leader — not least his oft boasted of "chemistry."

"Trump is more likely to use carrots than sticks to achieve his strategic goals on the Korean Peninsula. This means resuming direct leader-to-leader diplomacy with Kim, with whom he has always enjoyed a strong rapport," said Chan. 

Trump's pledge to end the Ukraine war could work to his advantage, reducing Russian dependence on North Korea and leading the state to find itself once again isolated. 

A deal between Trump and Kim appears to be a long shot, but it's just about possible, said Chan.

Trump could stop short of demanding the denuclearization of North and instead broker a "freeze" on nuclear development and weapons tests. 

In return, Trump could offer Kim sanctions relief and a reduction of US troops in South Korea.

"Kim likely sees in Trump a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to remake his country's relationship with the US, and thereby the wider world," said Chan.

"The potential to achieve his strategic goal of winning recognition as a nuclear state while coming in from the international cold will likely be too great for Kim to pass up, particularly as the Ukraine war winds down."

The nuclear option

Others remain skeptical of Kim's willingness to do business with Trump after the 2019 humiliation.

Trump may have to abandon the flattery and return to the threats and pressure.

For Bennet, the realistic options available to Trump could come down to military pressure and information warfare. 

One option is to modernize the nuclear weapons facilities in South Korea the US abandoned in 1991. Another is to launch an information warfare campaign inside North Korea.

Ultimately, events in Ukraine will determine whether Kim wants a new rapprochement.

Neither maximum pressure nor flattery "may not work until the Ukraine war comes to an end," Ellen Kim, a senior fellow with the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told BI.

"We have to see how North Korea's relationship with Russia evolves."

• North Korean troops sent to aid Russia will likely be deployed to the most dangerous fighting spots.
• That's according to South Korea's defense minister, who said they'd likely be used as "cannon fodder."
• North Korean forces have already taken casualties, per reports.

North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces will likely be sent to some of the most dangerous spots in the war, Kim Yong-Hyun, South Korea's defense minister, said on Thursday.

Speaking during a parliamentary defense committee session, Kim said that "the war is led by Russia, and from the stance of unit heads of the Russian military, they are likely to send the North Korean platoons to the most dangerous and difficult areas."

He added that North Korean troops will likely be used as "cannon fodder," according to Yonhap News Agency, echoing comments made by Joonkook Hwang, South Korea's ambassador to the UN.

North Korea has sent thousands of troops to aid Russia in its war efforts, according to officials from South Korea, Ukraine, and the US.

On Tuesday, the Financial Times, citing a Ukrainian official, reported that a North Korean general had been injured and several officers killed last week by UK-provided Storm Shadow missiles that Ukraine launched against a Russian command center in Kursk.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the general's injury, citing Western officials.

In the attack, Ukraine fired a volley of at least 10 Storm Shadow missiles, the Journal reported, citing Ukrainian and Western officials.

Earlier this month, Andrii Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, told BI that North Korean troops were being given just "a few weeks" of training, including in using reconnaissance and strike drones, before being sent to live combat positions.

Around the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that North Korean soldiers had suffered their first losses in the war.

Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine's ambassador to South Korea, told Voice of America earlier this month that the number of North Korean soldiers deployed to help Russia could rise to 15,000, which would mean about 100,000 soldiers serving in rotation within a year, he said.

Sources familiar with the assessments of several G20 countries also cited the 100,000 figure when speaking to Bloomberg.

During a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Kim Song, North Korea's permanent representative to the UN, avoided answering a direct question from his US counterpart about whether North Korea had sent troops to Russia.

Instead, he said the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between North Korea and Russia "fully conforms to international law and the UN Charter" and that his country would "remain faithful" to its treaty obligations.

• North Korea is home to about 26 million people who are taught to worship their leaders as gods.
• The country is culturally and economically isolated as many suffer from malnutrition and poverty.
• Many North Koreans go to work every day on farms, in factories, and in the capital of Pyongyang.

There's limited information available about the daily lives of people living in North Korea, one of the world's most isolated nations.

The country is home to about 26 million people. Kim Jong Un, the current Great Leader, has near-total control of the country and leads a repressive regime that is willing to do away with political dissidents.

While Kim boasts his great military and nuclear might to the rest of the world, many North Korean citizens quietly struggle, suffering from malnutrition and poor living conditions. Most citizens have little idea of what's going on in the outside world due to government restrictions on travel and electricity.

North Korean citizens are active in the workforce, though sometimes against their will. Most North Koreans don't have a say in their professions and are assigned a job. Tens of thousands are being held in political prison camps where many are used for forced labor.

Below, take a look into the mostly hidden world of the work-life of North Korea. 

Many in the country suffer from food scarcity.

Following a catastrophic famine in the 1990s, North Korea pushed to increase its agricultural production. Still, food insecurity in the region is alarmingly high.

The country was receiving food aid until 2009, and in recent years, corn and rice production has improved.

Many North Koreans work in agriculture.

North Korea's disdain for modern technological intervention is, in part, a way to add more laborers to the workforce. More machines would mean fewer workers. 

Some farmers rely on relatively primitive methods to farm the land. The nation has historically struggled to produce the amount of fertilizer it needs.

This noodle restaurant was built at the request of the late leader Kim Il Sung.

Workers at Ongnyugwan, a popular noodle restaurant in Pyongyang, claim to serve 10,000 lunches a day.

The restaurant was built in 1960 at the request of the late leader Kim Il Sung.

The Pothonggang Department Store is in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital.

Kim Jong Il opened the Pothonggang Department Store in December 2010 in what officials said was an attempt to improve living conditions in Pyongyang. The store sells electronics, cosmetics, food, housing goods, and more.

While comparatively wealthy citizens shop at the upscale store, poorer city residents buy goods via an extensive black market — often trading American dollars for products.

Workers at the 326 Electric Wire Factory make cables.

The 326 Electric Wire Factory in Pyongyang says it has 1,000 workers on any given day. When the Los Angeles Times visited in 2016, only 100 were on duty.

North Korea's major trading partner is China, to whom they sell minerals, metals, guns, textiles, and agricultural and fishery products. Russia has also started importing from North Korea. 

Images of the Great Leaders are found throughout the country.

Portraits of the Kims — first Great Leader, Kim Il-Sung, his son, Kim Jong Il, and now, Kim Jong Un — can be found throughout the country.

Citizens are taught from a young age to worship their leaders as gods. 

North Korea is a major producer of textiles like silk.

The Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang textile factory, named after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's grandmother, claims to employ 1,600 workers, primarily women.

To manufacture silk, workers sort and process silkworms to produce silk threads. Officials have said they produce 200 tons of silk annually. 

 

Some products are modeled after foreign ones.

The Ryuwon Shoe Factory in Pyongyang specializes in sports footwear.

One worker, Kim Kyong Hui, told CBS News in 2019 that "the respected leader Kim Jong Un has instructed us to closely study shoes from all over the world and learn from their example."

The Chollima Steel Complex in Nampo says it employs more than 8,000 workers.

The Chollima Steel Complex is one of several North Korean steel complexes.

It was built by Mitsubishi when Japan ruled over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Production briefly stopped after World War II but resumed in 1953.

People work in rice fields in North Korea's Kangwon Province.

Wonsan, the capital of the Kangwon province, is a major port city. It is being developed into a tourist site with several attractions, though tourism is highly limited. 

North Korea allowed some Russian visitors earlier in 2024 amid the growing relationship between North Korea and Russia. It has also historically allowed Chinese tourists. 

The prices of corn and rice products increased amid the pandemic.

Food scarcity was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The nation has strict internal and external security.

North Korea has a robust internal security administration that monitors its citizens. Officers in the Ministry of Public Security, the nation's law enforcement agency, function as a national constabulary.

Reports from the US Department of State indicate that North Koreans live under threat of human rights violations such as arbitrary arrests and punishments for alleged transgressions by family members. The government permits secret and unlawful killings of accused dissidents. 

North Koreans lived under severe restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, North Koreans lived under strict rules and restrictions, some of which may still be in place.

In May 2022, Kim Jong Un blamed his own officials and their "irresponsible work attitude" for a surge in COVID-19 infections.

The nation said it would reopen some travel in December 2024.

North Korean officials announced that some tourism activity could resume in December 2024, years after the COVID-19 pandemic first hit.

Though most other countries have reopened and resumed life as normal, North Korea has used the pandemic as an excuse to maintain harsh restrictions. Reports indicated that citizens were executed for violating pandemic rules. 

• Ukraine said on Monday that it found Western-made parts inside North Korean ballistic missiles.
• Russia has used the KN-23 and KN-24 missiles in attacks that have killed Ukrainian civilians.
• It marks the latest discovery of American and European technology inside weaponry used by Russia.

The Ukrainian military said on Monday that it found Western-made parts inside North Korean ballistic missiles, marking the latest discovery for Kyiv as it continues to find technology from Europe and the US inside weapons used by the Russian military.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency said that it found Western-made parts inside North Korea's KN-23 and KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles. These solid-fueled munitions are similar in certain respects to the Russian Iskander missile and can carry payloads in excess of 1,000 pounds.

North Korea sent dozens of these missiles, as well as military personnel to help operate the launchers, to Russia, which has been firing them at Ukraine for nearly a year. KN-23 and KN-24 strikes have killed multiple civilians in recent months.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency, also known as the HUR, said these weapon systems contain parts made by companies in China, Japan, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. Kyiv also said it found a voltage converter made in February 2023 — a year after the full-scale invasion — by British manufacturer XP Power inside a missile.

The company has not yet responded to Business Insider's request for comment.

The HUR called for tighter controls, writing a statement that "in order to obtain technologies for their weapons programs, the aggressor state Russia and its allies — the DPRK and Iran — use joint schemes to circumvent international sanctions, which requires an appropriate response, in particular — the strengthening of export control mechanisms."

Ukraine uploaded what it said was evidence of the Western-made parts to a government portal, which lists the names of several companies and identifies the technology found in the missiles. Kyiv said that it had previously found Western technology in the North Korean missiles.

The Monday statement marks Ukraine's latest announcement on the finding of Western-made parts inside weapons used by Russia in this war. Kyiv has discovered technology of American and European origin in Moscow's missiles and drones, as well as Iranian-made drones.

The continued discovery of Western components in systems made by sanctioned countries highlights the challenge of creating airtight controls.

Beyond missiles, Pyongyang has also provided Moscow with artillery pieces, shells, and troops in support of its invasion. Over 11,000 North Korean forces have been moved into Russia's western Kursk region, where the Kremlin is trying to push out Ukrainian forces who control territory there following a surprise invasion in early August.

NATO said the introduction of North Korean troops into the war marked a "significant escalation" in the grinding conflict. The development has triggered several major policy shifts from the West, including in the US and UK, which finally authorized Ukraine's use of powerful, longer-range missiles to strike military targets in Russia.

Over the past week, Ukraine has used its US-provided ATACMS ballistic missiles and British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles to carry out cross-border strikes for the first time.

• The comments were made by Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state.
• China may fear the alliance could bring US allies in East Asia closer together.
• North Korea is providing crucial support to Russia in Ukraine, and is getting favors in return.

China is increasingly concerned about the alliance between Kim Jong Un's North Korea and Vladimir Putin's Russia, according to Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state.

The US believes that more than 11,000 North Korean troops have deployed to Kursk in Russia, where Putin is attempting to take back territory that Ukrainian forces captured.

Meanwhile, Russia is providing North Korea with economic and diplomatic support.

"The topic that is becoming increasingly uncomfortable for Chinese interlocutors is the DPRK [North Korea] engagement with Russia," Campbell said at a talk for the Center for Strategic and International Studies last week, according to The Guardian.

"In some of the discussions we have had, it seems we are informing them of things that they were unaware of with regard to DPRK pursuits, and they are concerned that Russian encouragement might lead the DPRK to contemplate either actions or military actions that might not be in China's interests."

He added that China has not directly criticized Russia, "but we do believe that the increasing coordination between Pyongyang and Moscow is unnerving them," he said.

Russia and North Korea are among China's closest international allies, but analysts say Beijing is wary of the potential impact of an alliance between the authoritarian powers.

The support Russia is giving North Korea could upset the delicate balance of power on the Korean peninsula, where North and South Korea have for decades been locked in a frozen conflict.

South Korea has already threatened to hand weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea's support for Russia, and the tensions could spill into East Asia.

The Russia-North Korea alliance could weaken China's influence in East Asia, and draw US allies in the region closer together.

Some observers also believe that President-elect Donald Trump could seek to drive a wedge between China and Russia, the US' two most powerful rivals, when he takes office in January.

"China likely regards deepening ties between Russia and North Korea with some wariness," Ali Wyne, an analyst with the Crisis Group, told Business Insider in June.

"It worries about the possibility of Russia's providing military assistance that could advance North Korea's nuclear and missile programs."

However, China has considerable leverage over both Russia and North Korea. It provided the Kremlin with crucial economic and diplomatic support in the Ukraine war and has maintained close economic and political ties with North Korea for decades.

If it chose, it could likely use that leverage to restrain the North Korea-Russia alliance, say experts.

Others believe that the alliance benefits China. "Officially, they might not really welcome it; they might see it as an alarming situation," Jagannath Panda, head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, previously told BI.

"But the Chinese are waiting for an opportunity where North Korea, Russia, and China can come stronger together, and I think North Korea sending the troops to Russia is a testimony to that."

Panda said that China's strategic goal is to build an authoritarian nexus that would undermine the current world order. The growing alliance between North Korea and Russia, he said, is a step toward that.

• Russia has sent North Korea 1 million barrels of oil since March, according to satellite imagery analysis.
• The findings underscore the growing partnership between the countries, which includes military aid.
• The oil shipments are in defiance of UN sanctions, which Russia has ignored in the past.

An analysis of satellite images shows Russia defying sanctions to supply North Korea with at least one million barrels of oil this year, according to a new report.

The findings underscore the increasing partnership between the two states, and the extent to which Russia is willing to flout international norms to pursue its war in Ukraine.

The investigation, published jointly by the BBC and analysts at the UK-based Open Source Centre, used aerial and satellite images to track tanker shipping routes between Russia's port of Vostochny, in the country's far east, and five separate North Korean ports and oil terminals.

In the imagery, vessels would set out from North Korea riding high in the water, but on their return would appear fully laden, the group said.

The oil is payment for weapons and troops sent to aid Russia's war in Ukraine, the UK's foreign secretary, David Lammy, told the BBC.

Open Source Centre used the imagery to estimate that between March and November this year, Russia provided North Korea with at least a million barrels of oil — double the amount that North Korea is allowed to import under UN sanctions.

The UN Security Council — of which Russia is a permanent member — sanctioned North Korea in December 2017, forbidding the transfer of more than 500,000 barrels of oil a year to the state.

In March this year, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to extend the mandate of the expert panel tasked with monitoring the sanctions, effectively disbanding it.

The Open Source Centre and BBC investigation, which Business Insider has not independently confirmed, appears to back up assertions made by a US official in May.

The unnamed official told Reuters that in March alone, more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum had left Vostochny headed for North Korea, and that "Russian shipments have already pushed DPRK imports above the 500,000-barrel annual cap."

The new findings also give further insight into the continued material exchanges between Russia and North Korea.

Analysts have warned for months about the growing partnership between the two countries.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who signed a mutual defense agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June, has supplied vast amounts of ammunition and — it is believed — artillery to Russia to help in its invasion of Ukraine.

Around 11,000 North Korean troops have also been sent to fight, according to Ukraine, with reports suggesting that as many as 100,000 could be deployed within a year.

The two states have not made clear what the terms of the exchange are, but South Korean intelligence has estimated that it could be receiving about $2,000 per soldier a month, as well as food and access to advanced technology.

Earlier this year, a Carnegie Endowment analysis said the partnership was taking shape against the backdrop of the "slow and irreversible breakdown of the Kim dynasty."

But the oil transfers give North Korea "a level of stability it hasn't had since these sanctions were introduced," Joseph Byrne, one of the authors of the Open Source Centre report, told the BBC.

Analysts have previously told BI that the relationship between the two states is largely transactional, but that for Kim it's a "win-win" as he gains access to much-needed resources.

Kim is "getting paid, getting access to foreign technology," Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., a North Korea defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told BI last month.

• Russia announced on Wednesday that Vladimir Putin is gifting Kim Jong Un about 70 animals for his zoo.
• Russia's environmental ministry said the animals include a lioness, two bears, two yaks, and over 60 birds.
• The new set of animals is another touch by Putin to firm up his alliance with North Korea.

Moscow has sent Pyongyang yet another tranche of animals as gifts, as Russian leader Vladimir Putin seeks to bolster his alliance with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

This time, the animal contingent numbered around 70, according to a statement posted on Wednesday by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.

Describing the animals as a gesture of friendship from Putin to North Korea, the statement listed a female African lion, two bears, two yaks, five white cockatoos, 25 different species of pheasant, and 40 mandarin ducks among the transfers.

They are being delivered from the Moscow Zoo to the Pyongyang Central Zoo, the statement added.

"I am sure that the animals and birds will be well looked after. They will not get sick and will quickly get used to their new home," said Alexander Kozlov, the minister of natural resources and the environment, in the statement.

Kozlov's ministry said it had previously sent Pyongyang birds such as eagles, cranes, and parrots, but that it was the first time Russia had donated mammals.

Putin has recently been using animal diplomacy to cozy up to Kim. In August, the Times of London, citing a veterinary source in Russia, reported that the Russian leader had sent Pyongyang two dozen purebred white horses.

Kim had earlier gifted Putin two Pungsan hunting dogs during the latter's one-day visit to Pyongyang in June. State media painted the trip as a rosy meet between friends, publishing dozens of photos of the two leaders taking a joy ride in a car, playing with dogs, and strolling through presidential gardens.

They've wrought a public image of their close relationship amid a US-led global push to isolate Russia and North Korea. The West says both nations have breached international law, through Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang's repeated ballistic missile tests.

Putin and Kim have since resorted to turning to each other for help, officiating a mutual defense agreement in June.

Moscow hopes to lean on North Korea as an additional, vital source of manpower, ammunition, and older artillery systems for its war on Ukraine, while Pyongyang has been receiving food, money, and assistance for its nuclear weapons programs.

The budding partnership between both nations represents yet another pathway for Russia to stall the significant collapse that Western sanctions could induce. The Kremlin has been waging a war of attrition in Ukraine, throwing men and military hardware at the front line in hopes of outlasting Kyiv's Western-reliant resources.

As the likelihood of a drawn-out conflict grows, European NATO members such as Germany and Poland have been bolstering their defense spending. In 2023, military spending in Western and Central reached $588 billion, or an increase of about 62% since 2014, per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

• North Korea appears to have transferred different types of artillery systems to Russia.
• These are systems that have long threatened South Korea.
• The development comes as North Korean troops are fighting against Ukraine on behalf of Russia.

North Korea appears to have sent its big guns to Russia, furthering its support of Moscow's grinding war against Ukraine, a conflict in which artillery has been a dominant player.

The recent transfer of artillery pieces complements the thousands of troops North Korea has committed to the war to fight on behalf of the Russians and underscores the key role that shells and rockets continue to play in the conflict.

Images began to surface on social media last week showing what were identified as North Korean "Koksan" 170mm self-propelled howitzers traveling by rail across Russia.

The transfer of 170mm systems has since been confirmed by Western media reports citing South Korean intelligence, which says that Pyongyang has also transferred 240mm multiple rocket launch systems to Russia.

Can Kasapoğlu, a non-resident senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank, said Wednesday that the 170mm and 240mm systems are the two most powerful that North Korea owns.

The Koksan "has an operational range of 37 miles and can unleash an initial burst of four rounds in one minute, followed by one round every three minutes," Kasapoğlu wrote in a military situation report on Ukraine that was published Wednesday.

"It is designed to fire from protected areas and relocate for reloading. Pyongyang has hundreds of Koksan guns in its arsenal and can afford to send a significant number to the Kremlin," he added.

The first Koksan guns appeared in 1978, and then a newer version made an appearance in 1989. It is the longest-range non-rocket artillery system in the North Korean arsenal, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Threat project. It can lob high-explosive shells roughly 25 miles or rocket-assisted shells out to around 37 miles.

On the high end, that range gives it a reach greater than some other artillery systems and puts its range just under that of the Guided Multiple Launch Rockets (GMLRS) for the US-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

North Korea is said to have a highly capable artillery force with thousands of systems in its arsenal. In a 2021 report, the US Defense Intelligence Agency said Pyongyang could launch a "high-intensity, short-duration attack" on South Korea and mount an assault with little or no warning.

The DIA report said Pyongyang's artillery and armored force mainly consists of North Korean–produced copies of Soviet-era systems that are "largely based on old technology" but "reliable and easy to maintain."

While drones and other innovations have heavily defined the Ukraine war, artillery still plays a central role in the fight, with both sides using their guns to inflict significant casualties on the enemy. Kyiv has repeatedly raised concerns at times that it doesn't have enough ammunition from the West to keep up with Moscow, which is believed to have received millions of artillery shells and missiles from North Korea.

Artillery has long been described as the "king of battle," among other names, and that continues to be the case in Ukraine, even as other warfighting technologies come into play.

Kasapoğlu said that it's currently unclear whether North Korea sent the artillery pieces to support Russian units or for its own forces operating inside Russia's western Kursk region.

The US assesses that over 11,000 North Korean troops have deployed to Kursk, where Russia is attempting to take back territory that Ukrainian forces captured after they executed a daring cross-border invasion in early August.

North Korean forces have already engaged in combat against Kyiv's troops. The first battle actually involved artillery strikes, and shelling is a near-daily occurrence. NATO said the introduction of Pyongyang into the war is a "significant escalation" in the grinding conflict, which just passed the 1,000-day mark.

In response to the North Korean development, President Joe Biden lifted restrictions on Ukraine's use of longer-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia — a major policy shift in the final weeks of his term.