North Korea formalises troop deployment, signals deeper alliance with Russia

North Korea’s first official acknowledgment of its troop deployment to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, following around six months of silence, on Monday comes at a timely moment domestically to frame its participation in a more favorable light, as Russia claims momentum on the battlefield has shifted in Moscow’s favor ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Observers in Seoul view that Pyongyang’s announcement is externally aimed at securing reciprocal commitments — effectively extracting rewards — from Moscow by immortalizing its wartime contributions in writing and setting the stage for a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, experts agree that the chances of Kim attending Russia’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations remain slim.

More importantly, the move not only formalizes North Korea’s military contribution but also signals the potential to forge a deeper, long-term military alliance between the two, observers warned.

North Korea’s announcement, originally written Sunday and released the following day, came in the form of a written statement by the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The statement was simultaneously distributed through the state-run Korean Central News Agency — which primarily functions to deliver news to international audiences — and the Rodong Sinmun, the party’s official newspaper catering to domestic readers.

The statement carried on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun stated that North Korean troops participated in the “liberation operation of the Kursk region” under the order of the North Korean leader, crediting them with “making a significant contribution to annihilating” Ukrainian forces and liberating the Russian territory.

“Having such excellent soldiers is the pride of our state and the greatest honor of our people,” the Korean-language statement read.

The Defense Ministry on Monday denounced North Korea’s formal acknowledgment of its troop deployments as an “admission of committing a criminal act,” violating the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea.

Pyongyang’s announcement came two days after the Kremlin officially confirmed North Korea’s participation in its unprovoked war against Ukraine on Saturday, while Russia claimed its forces had recaptured Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year. Ukraine has denied the claim, saying that fighting there continues.

Putin also issued a statement filled with effusive praise later on Monday, praising North Korean soldiers for their “heroism, their excellent training and dedication displayed while fighting, shoulder to shoulder with Russian soldiers, defending our Motherland as their own.”

“The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the DPRK special forces,” Putin said, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name. “We will always honor the heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our common freedom, fighting side by side with their Russian brothers in arms.”

Cha Du-hyeogn, vice president at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, observed that the current shift in battlefield momentum in favor of Russia would suit North Korea’s aim of whitewashing its troop deployments — a contrast to last November and December during the early stages of deployment.

“Had North Korea acknowledged it last year, it would have been at a time when reports of heavy North Korean military casualties were emerging. Such circumstances would have made it challenging to use the situation as material for internal propaganda and agitation,” Cha told The Korea Herald.

“A narrative portraying the deployment as a ‘highly heroic and successful operation’ was needed, but that was not possible at the time. Now, however, North Korea appears to view that the conditions to convey such a narrative have been established.”

Doo Jin-ho, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, noted that “North Korea also aims to contain negative domestic sentiment over battlefield casualties while simultaneously galvanizing national unity.”

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, assessed that the statement is “a propaganda campaign that reframes the sacrifices of North Korean troops as ‘heroic feats’ and ‘victories,’ amplifying them as major diplomatic and military achievements attributed to Kim Jong-un.”

Experts also pointed out that the statement raised the prospect of further North Korean troop deployments, noting that Kim Jong-un’s decision to dispatch troops was framed as the activation of Article 4, which stipulates a mutual defense obligation under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty signed by Kim and Putin on June 19 last year.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday reiterated that Russia will provide military assistance to North Korea if needed in line with the bilateral treaty.

Lim Eul-chul, professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul underscored that “The acknowledgment of troop deployments suggests the possibility of Russia further expanding its military cooperation with North Korea, — and is interpreted as part of strategic preparations to sustain the war.”

Cha also noted that “the statement can be regarded as an interim settlement in the North Korea-Russia alignment,” noting that there have been so far no indications of further North Korean deployments to other contested regions, including the Donetsk region.

“So now it’s about a deal — as North Korea and Russia draw closer, another layer of bargaining is taking place between them,” Cha said. “North Korea can now demand a much higher cost for its soldiers. Since Putin is aiming for bigger victories in the war, North Korea would naturally demand more in return if it were to deploy more troops. This could mean demands for nuclear technology or large-scale support for conventional military forces.”

Doo further pointed out that the statement signaled a rise in North Korea’s strategic stature vis-a-vis Russia.

“Russia has fully recaptured Kursk, a highly symbolic and strategically important region, with the assistance of North Korean forces. Therefore, there is a possibility that the Russia-North Korea relationship could evolve into a blood alliance, with North Korea’s strategic standing rising significantly among Russia’s allies and partner countries,” Doo said.

“In particular, there is a likelihood of gradual military cooperation, including the potential transfer of military technology, as a reward for North Korea’s troop deployment.”

Hong viewed that, from North Korea’s perspective, “the country aims to lock in its alliance with Russia, making it necessary to publicly disclose the relationship to secure future reciprocal military benefits from Russia as part of a blood-forged alliance.”

Hong noted that North Korea “highlighted its elevated status as a blood alliance through a variety of superlative expressions,” such as “significant contribution,” “allied and brotherly relations,” and “a noble victory won while shedding blood together in the same trench” in the statement. The statement notably used the term “alliance” on three separate occasions.

“The Central Committee’s announcement throughout stressed the need to formalize and regulate the relationship in a way that preempts any potential weakening of North Korea-Russia ties or Russia providing half-hearted reciprocal measures in the future,” Hong said.

Cha also pointed out Pyongyang’s statement appears aimed at paving the way for the North Korean leader’s possible attendance at Russia’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations, though Kim’s final decision hinges on consideration of internal and external factors, including its currently discreetly frosty North Korea-China relationship.

“However, if Kim does decide to go, it would carry clear symbolic significance since North Korea has already set the stage,” Cha said.

Others expressed skepticism about the possibility of Kim’s attendance at the May event, instead placing more weight on the potential for the statement to lay the groundwork for a one-on-one summit between Kim and Putin.

Doo assessed that “North Korea can achieve its strategic objectives through the formalization of the troop deployment alone, without Kim’s visit to Russia or North Korea troop’s participation in the (May 9) parade.”

“If Kim does not visit Moscow this time, my assessment is that he will instead make a bilateral visit to Russia following the launch of South Korea’s new administration, or possibly on the occasion of the first anniversary of the signing of the North Korea-Russia treaty,” Doo told The Korea Herald.

“Given that Kim already holds a qualitatively different status compared to other leaders attending the ‘Victory Day’ celebrations, a bilateral summit with Putin would likely be far more beneficial for him than participating in the multilateral event.”