The official added that the unit comprises around 90 North Korean personnel and is expected to be based ⁠in the Voronezh region of Russia. How many North Korean troops have been sent? In January 2025, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations said more than 12,000 North Korean soldiers were in Russia. The Ukrainian official said ​this ⁠month that around 9,500 North Korean troops remained in Kursk, but were not then directly involved in operations against Ukraine. Russia and North Korea confirmed in April 2025 that North Korean troops had fought Ukrainian forces in Kursk.