\nNorth Korea-Russia military cooperation is a matter directly related to our security and an act that violates UN Security Council resolutions \u2026 the government\u2019s position is that such cooperation must be suspended immediately, and we are closely monitoring related developments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Any new deployment would continue to cement a clear path. Pyongyang and Moscow signed a mutual defence pact<\/a> in June 2024 and, within months, up to 15,000 North Korean personnel had been deployed to Russia. The deployment ranged from construction workers to logistics personnel, missile operators, engineers and infantry. It included 1,500 special forces troops.<\/p>\n
North Korea has gained a lot from its partnership with Russia. So far, its troops have not fought within Ukraine\u2019s internationally recognised borders. But North Korean soldiers have acquired battlefield experience<\/a> in ground operations in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukraine launched an incursion in 2024. North Korean missiles have also been fired at Ukraine<\/a> and Pyongyang has received new military technology from Russia. <\/p>\n
Perhaps more importantly, the partnership has provided North Korea with a financial boon. After many years of negative GDP growth, North Korea\u2019s economy grew 3.5%<\/a> in 2025. Beyond direct payment for the military support it is providing Russia, the partnership between the two countries supplies North Korea<\/a> with fuel, food and technical assistance, as well as deferring debt repayments. <\/p>\n
Their partnership has created a clear cycle in which North Korea supplies ammunition and manpower for Russia to use in the war, Moscow supports North Korea with resources and technology in return, and Pyongyang uses these to improve its standing against the south. <\/p>\n
South Korean concern<\/h2>\n
For South Korea, a key concern is what North Korean troops may be learning in Russia. The North Korean military, the Korean People\u2019s Army, has not fought a major conventional conflict since the Korean war in the early 1950s. But it is now directly involved in a modern war. <\/p>\n
North Korean personnel have engaged not only in direct combat, but also drone surveillance, electronic warfare and precision artillery strikes. Pyongyang is also now able to analyse its own weapon technology \u2013 and assess its effectiveness \u2013 in an actual conflict rather than a test setting. <\/p>\n
There have been calls from Kyiv and other allied capitals for Seoul to step up its involvement in the Ukraine conflict, but there is opposition<\/a> both among South Korean citizens and within the political class to providing direct military support.<\/p>\n
This position has been made clear by the South Korean president, Lee Jae-Myung, since 2025. Rather than becoming involved in a distant war in Europe, Lee has focused his foreign policy on the Korean peninsula \u2013 most recently calling for talks<\/a> with the north to pursue peaceful coexistence on August 15.<\/p>\n
At the same time, however, South Korea is attempting to bolster its readiness against emerging North Korean threats. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which South Korea carries out with the US military, have shifted in focus<\/a>. They now incorporate drones, cyberattacks and GPS jamming in addition to more traditional scenario-based field manoeuvres and air operations.<\/p>\n
But a key concern here is South Korea\u2019s relationship with its historic security partner, the US. Just as Seoul will not engage in Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, it has been equally reluctant to join the US\u2019s war in Iran. And, as has been the case for other US allies in Europe, it may face consequences for this.<\/p>\n
In a social media post on August 16, Donald Trump said the US<\/a> would \u201csubstantially reduce\u201d its joint military exercises with South Korea. He cited South Korea\u2019s refusal to join the Iran war, as well as his own \u201cvery good\u201d personal relationship with North Korea\u2019s leader Kim Jong\u2011un, as the reasons for doing so.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the US has used substantial quantities of ammunition during the war with Iran, despite being the world\u2019s largest military power. Reports from early August suggested<\/a> the US had used \u201cvirtually all\u201d of its precision strike missiles.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/289828\/count.gif\")
<\/p>\n