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Newly analyzed satellite images have revealed that North Korean troops, who were deployed to Russia last year to aid in its war against Ukraine, took a clandestine sea route to reach a remote Russian military base. The discovery, made by researchers at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, confirms long-standing suspicions about the secretive nature of the North Korea-Russia military cooperation.<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the analysis shared with\u00a0CNN<\/strong>, at least two Russian naval vessels transported North Korean troops to a military port in Dunai, a secluded area in Russia\u2019s Far East, in\u00a0October and November 2024<\/strong>. These covert movements align with previous intelligence reports from South Korea\u2019s National Intelligence Service (NIS), which had speculated about North Korean forces arriving via Russian warships from port towns like\u00a0Chongjin, Hamhung, and Musudan<\/strong>. However, at the time, South Korean officials had little concrete evidence beyond a\u00a0blurry radar image<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The new satellite imagery now provides substantial proof that North Korean troops were transported discreetly, avoiding major ports like Vladivostok in favor of Dunai, a less scrutinized military base.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think that the Russians or the North Koreans want these transfers caught on camera,\u201d said\u00a0Sam Lair<\/strong>, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. \u201cThe secrecy element is quite remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n Lair and his team identified\u00a0Ropucha and Alligator-class<\/strong>\u00a0Russian landing ships as the primary vessels used for transporting the North Korean forces. These ships, capable of carrying up to\u00a0400 soldiers per trip<\/strong>, were identified by comparing satellite images with previously documented photos from the\u00a0Japanese Defense Ministry in March 2022<\/strong>, when the same ships were seen passing through Japanese waters.<\/p>\n To maintain secrecy, North Korean troops likely boarded the ships\u00a0at night<\/strong>, making it nearly impossible to capture clear visual evidence of their departure. However, the situation in Dunai was different\u2014satellite images captured movements at the Russian military port<\/strong>, where it seems the authorities were less cautious in hiding the troops\u2019 arrival.<\/p>\n Unlike Vladivostok, which is a\u00a0densely populated civilian port<\/strong>,\u00a0Dunai is a secure military base<\/strong>, making it a strategically advantageous location for receiving and relocating North Korean forces without public or media scrutiny.<\/p>\n Following their arrival, the\u00a0South Korean NIS published satellite images<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0October 2024<\/strong>, revealing that North Korean troops were stationed at\u00a0multiple military facilities<\/strong>\u00a0across Russia\u2019s Far East:<\/p>\n The images, taken on\u00a0October 16, 2024<\/strong>, showed at least\u00a0400 North Korean soldiers in Ussuriysk<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0240 soldiers training in Khabarovsk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Despite their training and preparation, North Korean troops have suffered\u00a0severe casualties<\/strong>\u00a0in combat. The\u00a0South Korean NIS<\/strong>\u00a0reported on\u00a0February 27, 2025<\/strong>, that North Korea has continued sending reinforcements to Russia due to\u00a0high fatality rates among its deployed forces<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Originally, intelligence estimated that\u00a01,500 North Korean troops<\/strong>\u00a0were sent to Russia. However, this number has since\u00a0swelled to over 12,000<\/strong>\u00a0and continues to increase, despite significant losses on the battlefield.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Kyrylo Budanov<\/strong>, Ukraine\u2019s\u00a0military intelligence chief<\/strong>, over\u00a04,000 North Korean soldiers<\/strong>\u00a0have been killed so far. If accurate, this would mean that nearly\u00a0one-third of all deployed North Korean troops<\/strong>\u00a0have perished.<\/p>\n A major factor contributing to their heavy casualties is\u00a0Russia\u2019s tactical misuse of these soldiers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe North Korean military personnel fighting in the Kursk region are being used for frontal assaults without much military support such as artillery, armor, and drones, against some of the very best Ukrainian forces,<\/strong>\u201d said\u00a0Bruce Bennett<\/strong>, senior defense researcher at the\u00a0Rand Corporation<\/strong>, in an interview with\u00a0VOA<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Bennett noted that North Korean soldiers were trained for\u00a0special operations, infiltration, and sabotage<\/strong>, rather than\u00a0conventional large-scale frontal assaults<\/strong>. Their lack of proper adaptation to\u00a0modern drone warfare and artillery-heavy battles<\/strong>\u00a0has made them particularly vulnerable.<\/p>\n One of the most significant challenges for North Korean troops fighting in Russia is the\u00a0language barrier<\/strong>.<\/p>\n A\u00a0UK intelligence report<\/strong>\u00a0previously assessed that\u00a0\u201cRussia and DPRK forces are almost certainly experiencing interoperability difficulties. The two forces do not share a common language, and DPRK troops almost certainly have difficulties integrating into Russia\u2019s command-and-control structure.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0This lack of coordination has further weakened the North Korean forces on the battlefield.<\/p>\n Social media platforms have been flooded with videos of\u00a0North Korean troops being ambushed by Ukrainian forces<\/strong>, who have superior battlefield awareness and communication.<\/p>\n A significant portion of the North Korean forces deployed to Russia belong to the\u00a0Storm Corps<\/strong>, also known as the\u00a011th Corps<\/strong>\u00a0of the Korean People\u2019s Army. This is\u00a0North Korea\u2019s elite special forces unit<\/strong>, trained in guerrilla warfare, assassination missions, and infiltration tactics.<\/p>\n However, instead of utilizing their\u00a0special operations expertise<\/strong>, Russian commanders have deployed them\u00a0as conventional infantry units<\/strong>\u00a0for\u00a0trench warfare and urban combat<\/strong>, which has led to\u00a0massive losses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Ukrainian forces, aware of this tactical misstep, have\u00a0deliberately used combined arms strategies, drones, and artillery barrages<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0inflict maximum casualties<\/strong>\u00a0on the North Korean soldiers.<\/p>\n Beyond the deployment of troops,\u00a0North Korea has also supplied arms and ammunition to Russia<\/strong>\u00a0in recent months. Western officials fear that, in exchange,\u00a0Russia might provide Pyongyang with advanced military technology<\/strong>, including missile guidance systems and nuclear advancements.<\/p>\n The\u00a0United States, South Korea, and their allies<\/strong>\u00a0are deeply concerned that these technological exchanges could\u00a0significantly enhance North Korea\u2019s nuclear weapons program<\/strong>, further destabilizing the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n Despite the heavy losses,\u00a0North Korea appears committed to continuing its military support for Russia<\/strong>. For Pyongyang, the war in Ukraine presents a\u00a0rare opportunity<\/strong>\u00a0to gain\u00a0real-world combat experience<\/strong>, which could strengthen its military capabilities in a potential future conflict with\u00a0South Korea and the United States<\/strong>.<\/p>\n However,\u00a0Kim Jong Un<\/strong>\u00a0faces a dilemma. If casualties continue at this rate, domestic pressure in\u00a0North Korea<\/strong>\u00a0could mount, especially among the families of the fallen soldiers. While\u00a0Kim\u2019s regime exercises totalitarian control<\/strong>, the loss of thousands of trained special forces soldiers could\u00a0weaken North Korea\u2019s military readiness<\/strong>\u00a0in the long run.<\/p>\nSecretive Transfers Under the Cover of Darkness<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Where Are the North Korean Troops Stationed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Heavy Losses on the Battlefield<\/strong><\/h2>\n
North Korean Troops Face Language Barriers and Tactical Disadvantages<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Elite Storm Corps Suffer Heavy Losses<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Russia-North Korea Military Alliance Raises Global Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s Next for North Korean Troops in Russia?<\/strong><\/h2>\n