North Korean Troops FLOOD Ukraine—What’s Putin Planning?

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s red-carpet welcome in Pyongyang and Kim Jong-un’s pledge of “unconditional” support for Russia’s war in Ukraine should have every American asking: How did the world get flipped so far upside down that North Korean troops are fighting and dying on European soil for Moscow, while the West just watches?

At a Glance

• North Korea has pledged “unconditional” support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, deepening a new alliance.
• Thousands of North Korean troops are now confirmed fighting in Ukraine on Russia’s behalf, with more deployments planned.
• Kim Jong-un’s regime has suffered heavy losses, but uses state propaganda to celebrate the deaths as heroic sacrifice.
• Diplomatic and military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang has reached Cold War levels, further isolating both from the West.
• The U.S. and allies are scrambling to respond, while Russia and North Korea double down on their partnership.

North Korea’s “Unconditional” Backing for Moscow: A New Axis Emerges

In July 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in North Korea for high-level talks, greeted not just with fanfare but with Kim Jong-un’s ironclad promise: North Korea’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is “unconditional.” Forget any pretense about nonintervention or global norms—Kim is all in, and he’s got the body count to prove it. North Korean soldiers are already in the trenches in Ukraine, with casualty numbers in the thousands. Now, Pyongyang is preparing to send up to 30,000 more troops to prop up Putin’s flailing campaign, cementing a military alliance unseen since the darkest days of the Cold War.

Russia’s reliance on foreign fighters—a regime so desperate it’s tapping Kim Jong-un’s conscripted army—signals just how far Moscow has fallen from its so-called “superpower” image. The West’s response? More stern statements, more military aid to Ukraine, more wringing of hands. Meanwhile, Kim and Putin are toasting their “strategic partnership” and parading caskets through Pyongyang, selling defeat as victory to a population that has no say in the matter.

Military Alliance Deepens: Troop Deployments and Propaganda Pageantry

North Korea’s involvement in Ukraine isn’t some fringe conspiracy—it’s confirmed by both Ukrainian battlefield captures and North Korea’s own state media, which broadcasts ceremonies honoring “fallen heroes” who died fighting for Russia. Kim Jong-un, ever the showman, uses these events to whip up feverish support at home and justify the regime’s sacrifices abroad. The numbers are staggering: North Korea has acknowledged hundreds, possibly thousands, of casualties already, with even more families soon to face the loss of sons shipped off for Moscow’s war.

For Putin, this alliance is a lifeline. With Russian manpower and morale depleted after three years of grinding warfare, North Korean troops fill the ranks—especially in engineering and support roles, but increasingly on the front lines. The mutual defense treaty signed in 2024 locked both regimes into a cycle of reliance and propaganda, each presenting their unholy partnership as a bulwark against Western “aggression.” For the people actually fighting and dying in Ukraine, the reality is far grimmer than the banners and speeches suggest.

Isolation and Escalation: What This Means for the U.S. and the World

This alliance is not just about Ukraine. By formalizing military cooperation, Russia and North Korea are thumbing their noses at the entire Western world—openly flouting sanctions, trading weapons and technology, and signaling to other rogue states that the old rules no longer apply. The result? Heightened tensions from Eastern Europe to Northeast Asia, more instability, and a world where regimes like Kim’s feel emboldened to export their brand of terror and repression far beyond their borders.

The U.S., under President Trump, is taking steps to shore up Ukrainian defenses and counter this new axis of autocracy. But the challenge is daunting: Two nuclear-armed pariah states, united by their contempt for the West and willingness to sacrifice their people on the altar of power. The risk of escalation is real—not just for Ukraine, but for allies in South Korea, Japan, and the broader region, all of whom are watching this alliance with growing alarm. If this is the future of international “order,” it’s a future built on the ashes of common sense and the betrayal of every principle the West once claimed to stand for.

Sources:

UPI

South China Morning Post

ABC News