The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has, for the first time, sent combatant units abroad, to aid Russia in the war in Ukraine. As noted in the Joint Statement on the DPRK’s Deployment of Troops to Russia this development indelibly connects the Indo-Pacific and European theaters,

South Korea's military said on Monday it has detected signs of North Korea preparing to send more troops and weapons, including suicide drones, to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

As the war in Ukraine drags on toward a fourth year, North Korea is preparing to send Moscow more troops beyond the 12,000 already there, as well as additional weapons, including suicide drones, according to the latest assessment from South Korean intelligence.

North Korean troops have now entered Russia’s war with Ukraine in a major way, and some have been killed, Western officials say.

A letter from a North Korean soldier who died while deployed in Russia’s war against Ukraine was released by Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces on Christmas Eve. The handwritten note reportedly found on the body of the fallen soldier in Russia’s Kursk region offers a glimpse into the soldier’s emotional state.