Russia’s defense ministry released a new video on Monday of North Korean troops training with modern small arms used in the Ukraine war.
The 77-second montage, published by state media outlet TASS, showed the soldiers drilling fire movements, shooting from cover, clearing trenches, and being taught how to use Russian standard service hand grenades.
Some troops can be spotted with the AK-12, a fifth-generation modular assault rifle that entered service in Russia around 2020. Several of the rifles can be seen equipped with reflex sights and foregrips.
Back home, North Korean troops are primarily known to train and fight with the Type-88, a localized version of the Soviet-era AK-74 rifle.
Additionally, the clips feature soldiers training with the SVD sniper rifle, also known as the “Dragunov,” and the belt-fed PK machine gun.
Another clip showed a soldier handling an RPG-7, the rocket-propelled grenade launcher that Russia uses in service now. He fires a high-explosive anti-tank round from the weapon.
Notably, all of these small arms fall under the list of guns and equipment that Ukraine’s military intelligence said Russia was providing to North Korean troops in November 2024.
The footage also showed a soldier firing into the air with a semiautomatic 12-gauge shotgun known as the Vepr-12, which can be seen equipped with an extended choke. This muzzle attachment is typically used to turn the shotgun into an anti-drone weapon because it reduces pellet spread and extends the gun’s range.
Both Ukrainian and Russian troops have been known to rely on shotguns to take down drones at close range. TASS wrote that North Korean troops were training with the 12-gauge shotguns for this purpose.
The state media outlet also wrote that the soldiers in the clip had been part of North Korea’s force in Kursk, where Pyongyang had sent thousands of troops to reinforce Russia. Business Insider could not independently verify the authenticity of that claim.
Russia and North Korea’s alliance poses concerns for the West
The new clip comes after Russia and North Korea both openly acknowledged last weekend that North Korean troops had been fighting against Ukrainian forces, after months of staying silent on the matter despite mounting evidence of Pyongyang’s involvement.
Their partnership has sparked alarm in the West and South Korea, who fear that North Korean troops may be gaining vital combat experience and learning to fight with and against modern weapons and drones.
Many of these soldiers were sent on ground infantry assaults that often resulted in death or heavy injury. This tactic has become a hallmark of Russia’s strategy to exhaust Ukraine’s resources. Initial reports from the front lines described Pyongyang’s troops as unprepared, not knowing how to deal with exploding drones and taking heavy losses.
KCNA via REUTERS
But there are signs they’ve been adapting, such as a drawing that Ukraine said it obtained from a captured North Korean fighter detailing how to bait out a drone using a fellow soldier. North Korean troops are likely also getting their first chance to observe Ukraine’s use of advanced weapons such as HIMARS and the Abrams tank.
On the battlefield, they’ve proved far more tenacious than their Russian counterparts, charging in frontal “human wave” assaults and advancing without armor support. Ukrainian troops have said they struggled to capture North Koreans because the latter would often try to kill themselves rather than surrender.
A US State Department spokesperson told media outlets earlier this week that Washington was still concerned by Pyongyang’s troop deployment, saying that third countries like North Korea “perpetuated the Russia-Ukraine war” and bear responsibility.
