By Dasl Yoon

SEOUL -- North Korean forces deployed to help Russia's war against Ukraine are now operating surveillance drones, removing mines and executing artillery strikes, roles that illustrate the advancement in their combat skills after roughly 15 months of involvement in the conflict.

When North Korean troops first joined Russia's war effort in 2024, they were deployed in what Western officials described as suicidal waves on the battlefield. Now, they are providing more skilled assistance, according to details released in a Ukrainian military intelligence report this week.

Thousands of the roughly 15,000 North Korean troops returned home last year after helping Moscow retake the southern Russian region of Kursk from Ukrainian occupation. But as of last month, they have been launching artillery -- including multiple-launch rocket systems -- from southern Russia at Ukraine, according to the Wednesday report.

North Korean soldiers in Kursk are also rotated regularly under a bilateral agreement with Moscow, Kyiv said in the report.

North Korea's continued involvement in the conflict signals the Kim regime's commitment to gaining battlefield experience for his own army, while providing Russia with much-needed manpower in exchange for economic help and military technology.

The report comes weeks after a December homecoming ceremony, where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomed returning troops, at one point embracing a soldier in a wheelchair and awarding accolades in remembrance of those killed on the battlefield. In August, North Korea's top military officers were seen meeting with Kim back in Pyongyang, according to state media photos.

Around 3,000 North Korean soldiers have returned home, many becoming military instructors passing on their experience to the army, according to Kyiv's intelligence agency.

North Korean deminers have provided "invaluable assistance" in clearing the border of more than 1.5 million explosives, Kursk's governor said in a social-media post in December. Russian officials have praised North Korean troops for their "heroic acts" in defending Kursk.

Last summer, Kim agreed to dispatch an additional 6,000 specialists in military construction and demining to help rebuild infrastructure in Kursk.

North Korean weapons exports to Russia also appear to have increased in recent months, with activity surging since October at a port from which Pyongyang primarily exports its artillery to Moscow, according to SI Analytics, a South Korean satellite-imagery firm. The surge in shipments appears to be driven by Russia's intensified winter offensive against Ukrainian energy infrastructure and the return of North Korean troops to combat, the firm said in a Friday report.

Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2026 06:33 ET (11:33 GMT)

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