North Korea is expected to begin drone production this year with Russian technical assistance, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Feb. 8, citing undisclosed sources.
The agreement will allow North Korea to develop and mass-produce several types of drones in coordination with Russia.
According to the sources, the drone production initiative is likely a reciprocated gesture to North Korea after the country has sent soldiers to support Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine.
This cooperation follows last year’s strategic partnership treaty between the two countries.
Artyom Lukin of Russia's Far Eastern Federal University, previously told Reuters that the agreement is "for all intents and purposes... a pact of military alliance," Moscow's "first defense alliance outside the post-Soviet space."
The agreement also covers trade, investment, political and security cooperation.
As of early February, about 8,000 North Korean soldiers were fighting against Ukraine in Kursk Oblast, according to Budanov.
Up to 12,000 North Korean troops were deployed in the Russian region last fall to support Russian forces in countering a Ukrainian incursion launched six months ago, on Aug. 6 on 2024.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
