Media Tip Sheet: U.S. Confirms North Korean Soldiers Sent to Russia to Aid in its War on Ukraine


October 23, 2024

WASHINGTON (October 30, 2024) – Reuters reports that NATO confirmed there are North Korean soldiers in Russia, with an estimated 10,000 North Korean soldiers up from the original 3,000 estimate last week. This military cooperation is a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic Security.

In response, the United States have said there will be no limits on Ukraine’s use of American weapons if North Korea joins Russia’s war.

Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available for insight, analysis and commentary. To speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected].


Alexander Downes, professor of political science and international affairs and co-Director of the GW Institute for Security and Conflict Studies, has written on a variety of subjects in international security, including civilian victimization, foreign-imposed regime change, military effectiveness, democracy, coercion, alliances, and solutions to civil wars. Downes's book Targeting Civilians in War won the Joseph Lepgold Prize awarded by Georgetown University for the best book in international relations published in that year.

Yonho Kim is an associate research professor of international affairs and the associate director of the GW Institute for Korean Studies. Kim directs the policy programs at the Institute for Korean Studies: North Korea Economic Forum, North Korea Certificate Program, and Korea Policy Forum. He specializes in North Korea’s mobile telecommunications and U.S. policy towards North Korea.

Nick Anderson is an assistant professor of political science and international affairs. His research and teaching interests include great power politics, military intervention and territorial expansion, conventional military operations, and East Asian international relations. His first book, Inadvertent Expansion: How Peripheral Agents Change World Politics, will be published by Cornell University Press in 2025.

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