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North Korea vows ‘unconditional support’ for Russia in Ukraine

Jul 13, 2025, 6:06pm EDT
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in Wonsan, North Korea July 12, 2025.
Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Russia’s foreign minister that Pyongyang would “unconditionally support” Moscow’s ambitions in Ukraine, state media reported.

South Korean intelligence officials have estimated that the North has sent Russia roughly 13,000 soldiers and millions of artillery shells, and Ukrainian officials believe as much as 40% of Russia’s ammunition now comes from North Korea, Bloomberg reported.

That high degree of cooperation will likely start to decline if the war in Ukraine ends, an analyst argued in Foreign Affairs: North Korea has little to offer Russia beyond munitions and troops, and their broader economies are “fundamentally incompatible.”

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