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Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stand for a photo with copies of their newly signed pact establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership between their two nations following their summit in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19, 2024. (TASS/Yonhap)

Russia wants a fresh infusion of 30,000 North Korean troops, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Such a deployment would likely further strengthen cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang and intensify Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Russia wants to receive 30,000 more troops from North Korea. Since June, preparations have been underway in Russia’s Voronezh region to receive them,” Zelenskyy said in a speech posted to the social media site X on Saturday.

Voronezh is a Russian city and oblast on Ukraine’s northeastern border.

A contingent of 30,000 North Korean soldiers would be twice as many troops as have been deployed thus far, suggesting an escalation of the war.

“North Korea is also preparing to transfer additional launchers for ballistic missiles to Russia,,” Zelenskyy said. “This is a threat not only to Ukraine.”

“Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war, improve its weapons, and gain real combat experience in using them. All of this is a threat to everyone in Asia who is within range of North Korean missiles,” he added.

The Ukrainian president was suggesting that North Korea’s substantial battlefield experience in Ukraine could endanger such countries as South Korea and Japan.

Zelenskyy asked friendly countries to provide more military aid, including anti-air missiles.

However, Zelenskyy didn’t specify whether North Korea had agreed to Russia’s request for more troops. Another unanswered question is whether Russia plans to use the troops in actual combat.

Some pinpoint North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 19 as the moment when Russia’s request for more North Korean troops was made.

A spokesperson for the Kremlin said that Putin had recalled that North Korean troops fighting in the Ukraine war had been officially decorated for their brave and heroic deeds, which he said Russia would never forget.

North Korea has reportedly sent more troops to Russia following the initial deployment of 12,000 soldiers in October 2024.

On June 19 of that year, Putin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang to sign the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which promised immediate military assistance in wartime.

According to materials provided to the office of Rep. Kang Dae-sik of the People Power Party, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense’s intelligence office estimates that the North Korean military has sent over 16,000 soldiers thus far.

That is similar to the estimate of 17,000 soldiers that British Defense Secretary John Healey gave members of parliament in February.

North Korean troops reportedly remain stationed in Russia after taking part in joint operations to retake the Kursk region, which had been occupied by Ukraine, in April 2025.

By Kwak Jin-san, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]