North Korea's Profitable War: Why Pyongyang Will Keep Sending Soldiers to Russia

In the calculus of modern war, North Korea has found an unlikely windfall: by sending its soldiers into Russia's grinding conflict in Ukraine, Pyongyang has secured nearly $10 billion — roughly a third of its annual GDP — while quietly loosening its long dependence on Beijing. The arrangement, which began with 13,000 troops deployed to Russia's Kursk region in late 2024 and cost some 3,000 North Korean lives, is now expanding toward a commitment of 50,000 more soldiers. What unfolds is not merely a military transaction but a realignment of power among isolated states, each trading in the curre