These days Russia and North Korea are writing a new battlefield history together. North Korea has dispatched some 12,000 troops to fight in Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. The soldiers are believed to be some of North Korea’s most elite,

There is mounting evidence from the battlefield, intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors that some North Korean soldiers are resorting to extreme measures as they support Russia's three-year war with Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered to return them to North Korea should its leader, Kim Jong Un, arrange for Ukrainian soldiers to be released.

Over 12,000 North Korean troops are estimated to be fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, the United Nations Security Council learned last week.

A contingent of approximately 12,000 North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia’s Kursk region may suffer complete casualties by mid-April.

North Korean troops participating in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk Oblast are experiencing critically high casualty rates. If the situation remains unchanged, the entire contingent of 12,000 servicemen could be killed or wounded in action by mid-April 2025.

North Korea will reportedly participate in Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9, marking the first such instance in history, the Japanese broadcaster NHK World reported on Jan. 16, citing undisclosed sources.