North Korean troop deployment to Russia was an initiative from Pyongyang, not the Kremlin. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin quickly endorsed it, according to The New York Times. The agency notes that when North Korean troops began arriving in Russia this fall,

There are risks of North Korea sending additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army,” Zelensky said. “We will have tangible responses to this.”

Secretive North Korea has one of the world’s largest militaries, with 1.28 million active soldiers, but unlike in Russia, the Korean People's Army (KPA) has no recent experience of combat. Pyongyang’s army is “thoroughly indoctrinated but with low readiness,” says Mark Cancian, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

South Korea warns of North Korea’s preparations to supply more troops and drones to aid Russia in the Ukraine war.

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.

North Korean troops supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are conducting ground assaults against Ukrainian forces that have led to “heavy casualties,” a White House spokesman said.

According to Newsweek, the Ukrainian military has initiated strategic operations targeting North Korean soldiers operating under Moscow's command. Ad