Inside the North Korea-Russia Military Alliance: 10,000 Troops, $2,000 a Month, and Deadly Risks

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported that an additional 1,500 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia. This number is expected to reach 10,000 by December. The compensation for these deployments is around $2,000 per month.

Cho Tae Yong, Director of the NIS, provided this information during a briefing to the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee, as shared by the ruling and opposition party officials Lee Sung Gwon from the People Power Party and Park Sun Won from the Democratic Party.

The NIS has confirmed that after the initial transport of 1,500 North Korean troops from October 8 to 13, an additional 1,500 troops have been deployed to Russia.

Park stated, “The NIS provided credible intelligence indicating that around 10,000 troops will be deployed. They reported that Russia and North Korea’s planned deployment of approximately 10,000 troops is expected to be completed by December.”

The NIS reported that the deployed North Korean troops “have not yet been sent to combat zones and appear to be adapting at various training facilities across Russia. They are also undergoing specialized training in military equipment usage and drone operations.”

It was also revealed that Russia is actively recruiting many Korean language interpreters within its military.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) also reported that Russian military instructors involved in training North Korean soldiers have expressed concerns despite their physical fitness and high morale. According to the instructors, the North Korean troops lack a critical understanding of modern warfare tactics, particularly drone warfare. This gap in their training could result in significant casualties if they are deployed to the front lines of the conflict.

The NIS has reported that Russia is compensating each North Korean soldier with about $2,000 per month.

Although North Korean authorities are keeping the deployment entirely secret from the outside world, rumors have been gradually spreading within the country. There are even reports of “families of selected soldiers weeping to the point where their faces have become swollen.”

The NIS also reported that the North Korean authorities have been strictly controlling the dissemination of information and are likely relocating and isolating the families of the deployed soldiers to undisclosed locations to maintain tight control and management over them.