Maj. Gen. Vadym Skibitskiy, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, told CNN that the North Korean contingent is deployed mainly in Russia's Kursk region and includes about 1,000 engineers and demining personnel as well as 400 drone operators.
Many of the drone operators have gained experience either directly or indirectly through previous North Korean deployments, according to Skibitskiy. Their drones are expected to be used for both surveillance and attacks against targets inside Ukraine.
The deployment marks a further expansion of North Korea's role in Russia's war, moving beyond the infantry and engineering units Pyongyang previously sent to include personnel specializing in drone warfare.
Ukrainian intelligence does not expect the newly deployed North Korean troops to fight directly on Ukrainian territory. Instead, they are expected to reinforce Russian rear positions, potentially freeing Russian forces for combat operations inside Ukraine, Skibitskiy said.
Ukraine estimates that about 25,000 North Korean personnel have so far been deployed to or rotated through Russia's military since Pyongyang began sending troops in late 2024.
North Korea's first major deployment began in Russia's Kursk region in October 2024 after Ukrainian forces launched an incursion across the border. About 10,000 North Korean troops were initially deployed, with many suffering heavy casualties during combat operations. Pyongyang publicly confirmed its involvement in the fighting in April 2025.
Skibitskiy also said Russian President Vladimir Putin could ask North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for as many as 50,000 additional troops when the two leaders meet in September 2026.
North Korea has rejected claims that it is preparing another deployment on that scale. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, this week dismissed reports of tens of thousands of additional troops as a "groundless self-fabricated scenario."
The expansion of military cooperation is not limited to personnel.
Skibitskiy said North Korea had supplied Russia with at least 150 KN-23 or KN-24 ballistic missiles before August last year and had pledged another 120. Forty of those additional missiles have already been delivered, according to the Ukrainian intelligence assessment.
In exchange for supplying Russia with troops and munitions, North Korea has sought advanced Russian military technology, according to Ukraine. Skibitskiy said Pyongyang had requested Russia's S-400 air defense system and had already received a Pantsir-1 surface-to-air missile system.
The growing North Korean role comes as Ukraine faces acute shortages of advanced air defense interceptors. Ballistic missiles are particularly difficult to intercept, and North Korean weapons have added to the pressure on Kyiv's limited stocks of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors.
CNN noted that North Korea's growing battlefield experience, particularly in drone warfare, is drawing concern among U.S. allies as Washington moves to scale back some military training with Seoul.
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