• Around 10,000 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) combat troops are in Russia. It is almost certain some have already deployed to the Kursk region.
  • Russia and DPRK have committed to deepening their bilateral partnership with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, which includes a mutual defence clause, and was ratified by the Russian State Duma on 24 October 2024. For Russia, DPRK's military support to their war in Ukraine has highly likely been the core driver for the partnership and has until now, centred around North Korea's provision of arms. In return, DPRK has received high level international support from Russia and has secured a trading partner willing to break sanctions.
  • Russian and DPRK forces would almost certainly experience interoperability difficulties having not previously carried out joint military exercises. DRK troops conducting combat operations would almost certainly have issues operating Russian equipment, integrating into Russia's command and control structure, and working around the language barrier with Russian forces.
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