ONE OF the reasons why Russia has been able to persist in its “special military operation” was because they were able to secure the active support of the North Koreans, first as a source of munitions and a little later, as a source of cannon fodder.
It all began in late 2024, when North Korea deployed an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 troops into Russia.
As of 2026, Ukrainian sources claimed that the number rose to around 14,000, with 9,500 identified as combatants. South Korean estimates claim that around half of these were later wounded or killed.
Originally, the Koreans operated around Kursk, helping the Russians reclaim or defend lost territory. They have not extended their operations into Ukraine proper, most likely because Russian President Vladimir Putin did not want to alarm the Western states and increase support for the Ukrainians.
However, recent open source intel suggest that may change, as Putin may be considering to use his foreign mercenaries to push the front lines without implementing mass conscription, something that may trigger pushback from the Russian citizens.
What Putin did with the Koreans set a new precedent, at least in the modern era. Thousands of military personnel from a poor country were sent to fight and die in a war that involves a relatively wealthier one.
This is nothing new in history, but modern assumptions would have us believe that “we don’t do that kind of thing anymore.’”
We are supposed to live in the era of institutions and international law.
What Kim Jong Un and Putin did was make a deal like two Bronze-Age warlords. This is not like volunteer groups. The agreement is purely transactional, which is what labor arbitrage and outsourcing are based on. The former gets money and technology from Russia, and the latter gets munitions and warm bodies.
If a similar grinding war of attrition should happen in the future, and the front lines run out of bodies, expect similar arrangements to come into play./PN
