Ukraine war has transformed North Korean military: Kyiv’s military intel chief
An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over Kyiv during a Russian drone strike, on July 30. Moscow has dispatched military specialists to train the Korean People’s Army on how to use combat drones and air-defense systems. | REUTERS
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Gabriel Dominguez
STAFF WRITER
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Aug 13, 2025
Ahead of Ukraine peace talks between the leaders of the United States and Russia on Aug. 15, Kyiv's military intelligence chief has pointed to an unlikely country emerging stronger from the ashes of war: North Korea.
By supporting Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the communist regime has gained critical battlefield experience along with access to advanced weapons, military tech and tactical training that have not only impacted the course of the war in Europe but could also affect the balance of power in Northeast Asia.
“There are currently only three countries in the world with the experience of waging a modern war on a very long front line using virtually all available conventional means — these are Ukraine, Russia and North Korea,” Ukraine’s Chief of Defense Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, told The Japan Times.
The lessons from this conflict are now being passed on to the entire 1.3 million-strong North Korean military. This, along with the technologies being transferred by Moscow and Pyongyang’s growing mastery of modern warfare tactics clearly have “a negative impact on security in the Pacific region,” Budanov said in an exclusive interview.
About 5,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to have been killed or injured after an estimated 12,000 were sent last year to repel Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Pyongyang only admitted in April that soldiers had been killed in the fighting while also declaring that contributions to combat operations had concluded.
Budanov pointed to several reasons why North Korean troops suffered such a high casualty rate, especially early on in their involvement, with the main factor being their “unpreparedness for 21st-century warfare.”
“What they had trained for in North Korea turned out to be less relevant for today’s modern assault operations,” he said. There was also poor coordination with Russian troops on the battlefield, especially due to the language barrier, resulting in some instances of “friendly fire,” meaning that North Koreans mistakenly shot at Russian servicemen.
Ukraine’s chief of defense intelligence, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, has listed North Korea among only three countries with the experience of waging a modern war on a very long front line using virtually all available conventional means, the other two being Ukraine and Russia. | DEFENCE INTELLIGENCE OF UKRAINE
But the North Koreans “adapted quickly,” Budanov said, pointing out that these troops have been transformed on the battlefield, gradually adopting modern combat tactics and equipment.
“North Korean troops operate, like Russian ones, mostly in small groups. They have learned to move quickly, not only using drones, but also defending against them,” he said.
Ukrainian military intelligence estimates North Korea has replenished its forces in Russia. Including those in Kursk, the number of troops is back to around 12,000, meaning that most of those killed or injured in action have been replaced to wartime highs.
Budanov doesn’t rule out Pyongyang’s deployment of additional personnel either openly or covertly — for example under the guise of migrant workers — following last month’s resumption of direct flights between Pyongyang and Moscow and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s offer of “unconditional support” to Russia.
This comes after Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu announced in mid-June that Pyongyang would send military engineering units totaling 6,000 military personnel to clear mines and carry out reconstruction work in the Kursk region over the coming months.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov shake hands before an award ceremony at an airfield in the town of Hostomel, outside of Kyiv, on Feb. 24, 2024. | UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / VIA REUTERS
When asked about this, Budanov raised doubts about whether this will be the mission’s sole objective.
“Some of them may indeed be involved in demining and building fortifications, but will all of them do that?” he noted, adding that the deployment plans also feature 50 to 100 units of North Korean equipment, including M2010 — or Cheonma-D — main battle tanks and BTR-80 armored personnel carriers.
Indeed, as Moscow looks to solidify recent territorial gains, Pyongyang's support for Russia has not only included troops, but also some tens of thousands of shipping containers suspected of carrying artillery rounds, as well as mobile anti-air and anti-tank missiles, among other weapons — a move that highlights the speed at which bilateral ties have deepened since the two nations signed a mutual defense treaty just over a year ago.
According to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, North Korea currently supplies 40% of the Russian army's needs for 122 mm and 152 mm munitions, production of which reportedly continues “around the clock in North Korea.”
Russia has also received hundreds of units of artillery systems, multiple rocket launchers and missiles from Pyongyang.
Some of these weapons initially showed low efficacy, Budanov said. But the Russians have succeeded in eliminating many of these shortcomings, with one example being the 690-kilometer-range KN-23 missile, which has now become effectively battle-tested and refined. “The missile’s accuracy, unfortunately, has increased after Russian modernization,” Budanov said.
Many of these weapons, including the long-range, 170-mm M1989 self-propelled guns, “are actually a problem on the battlefield,” the lieutenant general noted, adding that these systems have contributed greatly to the continuation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Russia's T-72 tanks are seen during military drills held at a firing range amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in the southern Krasnodar region, Russia, on Dec. 2, 2024. | REUTERS
The issue is not just the improving quality but also the sheer quantity of supplies coming in, he said, pointing to the North Korean regime’s “significant military reserves” and vigorous military production capacity despite the numerous United Nations sanctions that have been imposed against it.
This is key as Pyongyang is making up for depleted munitions and other materiel that Russia either can't produce on its own or can't replace as fast as needed to sustain a war of attrition such as this one.
North Korea “is now a key military ally of Russia,” Budanov said, while highlighting that the exchanges go both ways.
In return for Pyongyang’s support, Moscow has been mainly providing three things: money, technology and training, all of which has been helping North Korea to boost its military capabilities significantly. On top of that, it has supplied urgently needed food, fuel, lubricants and other resources.
“The Kremlin pays for all military equipment and troops. This is tens of billions of dollars’ worth, and for the economy of North Korea, one of the most isolated in the world, this is very serious money,” the intelligence chief said.
Moscow has also dispatched military specialists to train the Korean People’s Army not only on how to use combat drones and air-defense systems but also to help set up in North Korea the production of Russian variants of the Iranian-developed Shahed/Geran attack drones, he added — a move that could help North Korea’s drone industry take off.
In the meantime, Russia is believed to have provided advanced electronic warfare systems to North Korea while state-of-the-art Russian air-defense systems equipment such as the Pantsir-S1 are known to have been deployed to defend North Korea’s capital.
North Korean officers are also undergoing modern combat training in Russia, in particular at the country’s far eastern training grounds while delegations from Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Military University have flown to Moscow to expand military-educational cooperation, he said.
And besides improving missile systems such as the KN-23, Pyongyang is interested in Russian assistance in satellite tech, with media reports claiming that the regime has accelerated construction of an improved launch site for spy satellites, as well as the addition of a seaport that could facilitate deliveries of new Russian components.
“We have consistently emphasized that the cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang does not only pose a threat to Ukraine,” Budanov stressed.
This burgeoning alliance, the military spy chief warned, is also likely to make Pyongyang even more unpredictable and less inclined to listen to its long-standing ally, China, which has long sought to contain North Korea’s nuclear and military ambitions.
The alliance with Russia, which includes a mutual defense pact, “may weaken Beijing’s leverage” over Pyongyang, Budanov said.
“The risk of impulsive, threatening actions by the North Korean regime should therefore be taken seriously,” he warned.
