North Korean Combat Troops in Russia: A Significant Contribution?: It has now been confirmed by a plethora of sources that North Korean combat troops are going to be fighting in the war Russia is waging against Ukraine. The nature of the mission these troops will carry out and the effects that it will have, not only on the war but on North Korea-Russia relations is incredibly important.

Thus it is important to know several things: when did this start what are the troop numbers, who are these troops who will fight for Russia, will this have a major impact on the war, and perhaps just as importantly, what does North Korea get out of this?

North Korea has of course been supplying Russia artillery shells, ballistic missiles, and small arms for nearly two years now. The numbers are staggering and this has become a key aspect of the support to combat operations that the Russians need. But back in 2022 when all of this started, the North Koreans reportedly offered up 100,000 troops to support the fight. While that offer may or may not have been an exaggeration, Kim Jong-un has now decided to send at least this first contingent of troops to engage in the fight in Ukraine.

According to the South Korean press quoting the NIS (South Korea’s equivalent of the CIA), the first contingent of troops is around 12,000 men. This consists of four brigades, about 3,200 men each, that are subordinate to North Korea’s 11th Corps, which some experienced analysts may remember as the “Light Infantry Training Guidance Bureau.” The 11th Corps reportedly has ten independent brigades attached to it and there are also light infantry brigades attached to every geographical and functional corps in North Korea. North Korea’s light infantry troops are among the best trained, best fed, and most motivated of the country’s troops.........

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