BBC: Up to 50,000 North Korean Troops Expected for Fresh Deployment to Russia for Ukraine War

Zelensky said last month that up to 50,000 North Korean troops could be deployed to Russia, revising an earlier estimate of 30,000, and called on South Korea to supply air defense support 1. Ukraine's HUR estimates roughly 8,500 North Korean troops remain on Russian territory in four brigades assigned to defend the Kursk border area, following an initial deployment of about 13,000 troops in late 2024 that HUR says suffered 3,000 killed and 1,500 wounded; a separate BBC Korea analysis of a North Korean memorial site put the Kursk death toll at roughly 2,300 1. HUR told the BBC these forces are not currently engaged in active combat and have not been observed in occupied Ukrainian territory 1. Zelensky said preparations have been underway since June in Russia's Voronezh region to receive additional North Korean forces and claimed Pyongyang was preparing to transfer further ballistic weapons to Russia 1. South Korean outlets citing the BBC report placed North Korea's revenue from troop deployments and arms sales to Russia at roughly $10 billion over 2.5 years, close to a third of the country's estimated $30 billion annual GDP, based on estimates from Lim Soo-ho of Seoul's Institute for National Security Strategy. Only two North Korean soldiers are known to have been captured alive during the Kursk campaign, with many reportedly choosing suicide over capture 234.