Chun In-bum, a former commander of South Korea's special forces, agrees with the defectors' appraisals. "Just because they lack food and training, does not mean they are incapable. They will acclimatise quickly. We should not underestimate them."

Pyongyang's provision of troops as well as weapons and munitions that Moscow can't produce fast enough carries a symbolic element.

The United States hit North Korea and Russia on Monday with new sanctions targeting Pyongyang's financial and military support to Moscow as well as its ballistic missile program. The sanctions, which list North Korean banks,

North Korea demonstrated this year that it could produce ballistic missiles and supply them to Russia for use against Ukraine in a matter of months.

Jonah Leff said that the researchers from his group examined remnants of four North Korean missiles recovered in Ukraine in July and August. One of them had marks showing it was procured in 2024, according to the researcher.

U.S. confirms North Korean troop casualties in Russia, with reports of efforts to conceal losses through cremation by Russian forces.

The Pentagon has seen “indications” that the North Korean forces who have been sent to Russia to help the Kremlin in its war against Ukraine have suffered their first casualties, according to a U.S. official.