No more North Koreans at the Russian border

A significant rise in visits from North Korean citizens began in the third and fourth quarters of 2024. FSB statistics at the time indicated that North Koreans were arriving in Russia en masse for “educational purposes.” However, Russia’s Ministry of Education had not announced any such large-scale exchange programmes, and the quotas for foreign students at Russian universities remained unchanged.

The record number of journeys by DPRK citizens to Russia during 2024 coincided with reports suggesting North Korea was deploying thousands of its soldiers to participate in the war in Ukraine.

This was later officially confirmed: at the end of April, Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, mentioned the involvement of soldiers from the DPRK in battles for the Kursk region.

Adding to these acknowledgements, on May 7, North Korea also confirmed for the first time that it had dispatched its military personnel to participate in the war against Ukraine on Russia’s side. KCNA state agency quoted Kim Jong Un, who described the North Korean army’s participation in the war as a “sacred mission to further strengthen friendship and solidarity with Russia” and a “defence of North Korea’s honour.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin in turn publicly thanked the DPRK army units, the North Korean people, and Kim Jong Un personally for their military assistance in the Kursk region. “We pay tribute to the heroism, high level of special training, and selflessness of the Korean warriors who, shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own,” Putin said. He added that “the Russian people will never forget the feat of the Korean special forces fighters.”

According to FSB data, the influx of North Korean students to Russia had all but disappeared by the first quarter of 2025. During this period, only around 300 people entered the country, with a mere three citing education as their purpose of travel.

In early May 2025, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal reported that North Korea had dispatched not only soldiers but also approximately 15,000 labour migrants to Russia.