North Korea Reaffirms “Unconditional Support” to Russia

This weekend Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov flew into Wonsan to meet Kim Jong Un, with the latter reaffirming North Korea’s “unconditional support” of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The meeting follows the signing of a ‘strategic agreement’ between Pyongyang and Moscow last year which sought to bring Russia and North Korea closer, both militarily and geopolitically. While Pyongyang only first publicly acknowledged sending some of its military to Russia in April, Western sources maintain that North Korean troops were been deployed in Ukraine many months prior.

According to South Korean intelligence, Pyongyang has already supplied Russia with over 11,000 troops, with plans to send an additional 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers, tripling its infantry presence.  These forces have been deployed in regions such as Kursk, where 6,000 North Korean troops are estimated to have been killed or wounded.

This comes alongside North Korea suppling 12 million 152mm artillery shells, enough to fill approximately 28,000 shipping containers. Indeed, according to the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, North Korean supplies now make up some 40% of Russia’s ammunition. It’s also understood that Pyongyang has transferred 100 ballistic missiles, many of which have been used to strike Ukrainian cities including Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.

With the North Korea being a pariah of the international financial system and global trade network, Moscow has long supplied Pyongyang with soft and hard commodities either to feed its population or manufacture weapons in return. Indeed, it’s believed that Russia has provided North Korea with advanced military technology, including air defence systems, electronic warfare tools, and missile guidance data.

It’s important to note however that this exchange is not merely transactional but reflects a broader geopolitical realignment, with both nations leveraging their partnership to counter Western influence. For North Korea, the war offers a rare opportunity to gain combat experience, test its weapons in live conflict, and accelerate its ICBM and satellite programmes with Russian technical support.

With North Korea pledging ever greater support for Russia, US President Donald Trump announced yesterday evening that Washington would be deploying Patriot missile defence systems to Ukraine. At a cost of $3m each, the Patriot represents one of the most advanced missile defence systems in the world, designed to intercept a wide range of aerial threats, including aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, and tactical ballistic missiles.

The announcement came alongside Trump telling reporters that “We basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military”. For a war that he repeatedly suggested could be terminated within 24 hours of his presidency, Trump is clearly becoming more agitated about the further breakdown in diplomatic relations. Indeed, speaking about Putin, the President said that “He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening. So, there’s a little bit of a problem there. I don’t like it.”

Attention now turns to Donald Trump’s meeting with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in the White House later today, to see any further developments around the US’ and Nato’s support of Ukraine.