North Korea–Russia Military Cooperation

North Korea says it has completed a new housing district in Pyongyang, Saeppyol Street, dedicated to families of North Korean soldiers killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, with Kim Jong Un touring the site on Feb. 15 with his daughter Kim Ju Ae and vowing to repay the 'young martyrs.' The opening is part of an intensified propaganda campaign that includes a memorial wall and a new museum glorifying North Korean units deployed to Russia’s war, which analysts see as an effort to shore up internal unity and pre‑empt public anger over mounting casualties. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers last week it estimates about 6,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded in Ukraine, up sharply from an earlier estimate of roughly 600 dead, and believes these units are gaining modern combat experience and Russian technical assistance that could improve Pyongyang’s weapons performance. Kim has in recent months sent thousands of troops and large quantities of artillery, missiles and other equipment to Russia as he and Vladimir Putin tighten their alignment against Washington and its allies, while North Korea prepares a ruling‑party congress where Kim is expected to set five‑year domestic and foreign‑policy goals. For U.S. and NATO planners, the episode is another data point showing the Kremlin’s reliance on foreign manpower and arms — and the risk that battlefield know‑how and technology fed back to Pyongyang will strengthen a hostile, nuclear‑armed state in Asia.