North Korea to send artillery units, 150 more ballistic missiles to aid Russia’s war, Budanov says
North Korea is expected to send reinforcements to Russia’s Kursk Oblast, mainly gun and rocket artillery units, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with The War Zone magazine published on Jan. 23.
Pyongyang is also expected to send 150 short-range KN-23 ballistic missiles to Russia in 2025, in addition to the 148 already supplied in 2024, according to the spy chief.
Moscow is further set to receive additional 170 mm M1989 Koksan self-propelled artillery guns and M-1991 240 mm multiple launch rocket systems, Budanov noted, adding that North Korea provided 120 pieces of each of these systems in the past three months.
The North Korean soldiers are expected to train their Russian counterparts on the supplied systems, he said.
North Korea has shaped up to be Russia’s key supporter in its war against Ukraine, providing extensive artillery ammunition, missiles, and a contingent of 12,000 troops who had joined Russia in assaults against the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast.
Kyiv has said that North Korean troops have already suffered 4,000 casualties, though the number cannot be independently verified.
Budanov did not provide further details on the number of North Korean reinforcements or the timeframe of their arrival. The New York Times reported that according to an undisclosed U.S. official, fresh Pyongyang troops could arrive within two months.
Experts interviewed by the Kyiv Independent connected North Korea’s high casualty rates to a lack of experience with modern warfare, the "human wave" tactics employed against entrenched Ukrainian positions, and the resolve of North Korean troops to avoid capture, even at the cost of their own lives.
Only two North Korean soldiers are in Ukrainian captivity since Pyongyang deployed its troops in Kursk Oblast last fall.
Russia has ramped up its efforts to push Ukrainian forces out of their positions in Kursk Oblast, held since early August 2024. The region is expected to play a key role in any negotiations amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for peace talks.
Martin Fornusek
