We still don’t know for sure if there are North Korean troops fighting in Russia against Ukrainian forces. Perhaps we never will. But Ukraine’s case for their presence was not made stronger by the sudden announcement on January 30 that they were gone.

North Korean troops, largely special ops forces, have suffered high casualties in bloody assaults not unlike other units, including prison units.

The number of North Koreas entering Russia in 2024 surged nearly 12 times from the previous year to top 13,000, according to recent data, possibly reflecting a surge in laborers dispatched overseas to earn foreign currency for the Kim Jong-un regime.