N. Korea estimated to have earned up to US$14.4 bln from Russia-Ukraine war involvement: report

▲ This file photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 13, 2025, shows leader Kim Jong-un (C) attending a welcoming ceremony the previous day for North Korean military engineer troops who returned home after being deployed to Russia's Kursk region to remove landmines amid the Russia-Ukraine war. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

NK gains-Russia troop deployment

N. Korea estimated to have earned up to US$14.4 bln from Russia-Ukraine war involvement: report

SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is estimated to have earned up to US$14.4 billion from its troop deployment to the Russia-Ukraine war and arms exports to Russia, a report showed Monday.

The figures come from a recent report on the economic impact of North Korea's soldier dispatch and arms exports to Russia by Im Soo-ho at the Institute for National Security Strategy.

"If North Korea fully collects payment for its troop deployments and arms exports, the key economic impact of sanctions, which is the reduction of hard currency earnings, is expected to be undermined," he said in the report.

Pyongyang is believed to have sent troops deployments four times since October 2024, involving more than 20,000 North Korean soldiers.

Even before the troop deployments, North Korea was spotted shipping various arms to Russia through satellite photos.

From August 2023 to December last year, North Korea is estimated to have earned between $7.67 billion and $14.4 billion in hard currency, according to the report.

Direct earnings from the troop deployment, including solider wages and death compensation, are estimated at $620 million. The report projects North Korea to earn $560 million annually from troop deployment alone, if the current situation continues.

But the actual compensation Pyongyang has been confirmed to have received is estimated to be around 4 to 19.6 percent of its projected total earnings.

The author said the confirmed compensation is limited to items detectable through open observation and satellite imagery, and that there is a high likelihood that North Korea will receive additional compensation for sensitive military technology, precision parts and materials later.

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