We are vigilant about DPRK activities.
This is a non-exhaustive list of reports from several sources. We are always updating…
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<Arms Control Wonk> 2025-6-10, A New Enrichment Plant At Yongbyon?
War in Ukraine
<Telegram> 2025-6-17, Kovalenko (KN-23)
<Telegram> 2025-4-24, Special Operation Forces (DPRK platoon in close combat)
<Telegram> 2025-4-16, Kovalenko (KN-23)
<Telegram> 2025-4-16, Kovalenko (Russia imports DPRK labors)
<Telegram> 2025-4-15, Kovalenko (Ammunition)
<Telegram> 2025-1-27, Special Operation Forces (Seized DPRK troops equipments)
<Telegram> 2025-1-25, Kovalenko (M-1978 Koksan)
<X> 2025-1-11, Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Two DPRK soldiers captured in the Kursk Region), https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1878046090018042169
<Telegram> 2025-1-8, Special Operation Forces (DPRK soldiers captured in the Kursk Region)
<Telegram> 2025-1-8, Special Operation Forces (DPRK soldier’s memo)
<Telegram> 2025-1-7, Special Operation Forces (DPRK 13 soldiers were killed)
<Telegram> 2025-1-3, Kovalenko (Soldiers’ notebook)
<HP, Ukraine Defense Intelligence> 2025-1-2 (Russians continued to involve units of the DPRK army in conducting hostilities in the Kursk region)
<Telegram> 2024-12-28, Special Operation Forces (Soldier’s memo)
<Telegram> 2024-12-26, Special Operation Forces (Soldier’s memo, How to eliminate a drone)
<Telegram> 2024-12-23, Kovalenko (Soldiers’s death)
<X> 2024-12-23, Volodymyr Zelenskyy (More than 3000 DPRK soldiers were killed and wounded), https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1871216838585016699
<Telegram> 2024-12-22, Armed Forces of Ukraine (Disguised ID of DPRK soldiers)
<Facebook> 2024-12-20, Air Force Command of UA Armed Forces (KN-23 attacks against Kyiv)
<Telegram> 2024-12-17, Kovalenko (Soldiers wounded)
<Telegram> 2024-12-17, Kovalenko (Reactions to drones)
<Facebook> 2024-12-17, Ukraine Defense Intelligence (DPRK deployed surveillance posts of drones)
<Telegram> 2024-12-16, Kovalenko (Drone footage)
<Telegram> 2024-12-15, Kovalenko (Drone footage)
<Telegram> 2024-12-14, Kovalenko (Dressed in Russian uniforms)
<Telegram> 2024-11-29, Kovalenko (KN-23, Artillery)
<Facebook> 2024-11-26, Ukraine Defense Intelligence (Foreign components from KN-23/KN-24)
Reference materials, War Sanctions webpage, https://war-sanctions.gur.gov.ua/en/components
<Telegram> 2024-11-24, Kovalenko (KN-23)
<Telegram> 2024-11-24, Kovalenko (Disguised as Russians)
<Telegram> 2024-11-23, Kovalenko (Oil transfer)
<Telegram> 2024-11-22, Kovalenko (Transfer of soldiers)
<Telegram> 2024-11-20, Kovalenko (13th GRAU stored KN-23)
<Telegram> 2024-11-19, Kovalenko (67th GRSU stored DPRK munitions)
<Telegram> 2024-11-16, Kovalenko (“DPRK don’t believe God”)
<Telegram> 2024-11-15, Kovalenko (UAV)
<Telegram> 2024-11-13, Kovalenko KN-23)
<Facebook> 2024-11-10, Ukraine Defense Intelligence (Intercepted DPRK troops radio)
<Telegram> 2024-11-8, Kovalenko (DPRK soldiers in Kursk)
<Telegram> 2024-11-7, Kovalenko (DPRK soldiers in Kursk)
<Telegram> 2024-11-5, Kovalenko (DPRK soldiers, Drone training)
<Telegram> 2024-11-4, Kovalenko (The first DPRK troops under fire )
<Facebook> 2024-11-2, Ukraine Defense Intelligence (More than 7000 DPRK soldiers moved from Primorsky Krai to areas near Ukraine)
<Telegram> 2024-10-31, Kovalenko (3000 DPRK soldiers in Kursk Region)
<Facebook> 2024-10-27, Ukraine Defense Intelligence (Transporting DPRK mercenaries to the front in trucks with civilian plates)
<Facebook> 2024-10-24, Ukraine Defense Intelligence (The first DPRK troops arrived in the combat zone)
<Telegram> 2024-10-23, Kovalenko (DPRK troops arrival in Primorsky Krai)
<Telegram> 2024-10-15, Kovalenko (Less 1% DPRK officers speak Russian)
<Telegram> 2024-10-15, Kovalenko (DPRK troops may be in Kursk Region)
<Telegram> 2024-10-14, Kovalenko (Fiction of 100,000 units preparation)
<Telegram> 2024-10-9, Kovalenko (DPRK ammo stored at 67 GRAU)
<Telegram> 2024-10-8, Kovalenko (DPRK engineers were deployed)
<Telegram> 2024-9-29, Kovalenko (Attempt to blow up railway)
<Telegram> 2024-9-3, Kovalenko (DPRK ballistic missile)
<Telegram> 2024-8-6, Kovalenko (DPRK ballistic missile)
<Telegram> 2024-8-2, Kovalenko (DPRK mortars delivery)
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<38 North> 2025-6-13, Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center: A Suspected New Enrichment Facility and Dismantlement of 50 MWe Reactor
<CSIS> 2025-6-12, Suspected Uranium Enrichment Building at Yongbyon
<ISIS> 2025-6-11, Is North Korea Building a New, Kangsong-Like Building at Yongbyon?
<Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey> 2025-6-10, Suspect Enrichment Facility in the DPRK
<CSIS> 2025-5-8, Yongdok-tong Nuclear High Explosives Test Facility: Part 3
<CSIS> 2025-5-2, Yongdok-tong Nuclear High Explosive Test Facility: Part 2
<CSIS> 2025-4-22, Yongdok-tong Nuclear High Explosive Test Facility: Part 1
<Open Source Centre> 2025-4-15, Brothers in Arms: Estimating North Korean Munitions Deliveries to Russia
<Open Source Centre> 2025-2-18, Red Passage: Russian-DPRK Munition Carrier Seeks to Transit the Suez
<Open Source Centre> 2024-11-22, Refined Tastes: Russian Oil Deliveries to Pyongyang Breach the Million Barrel Mark
<Conflict Armament Research> 2024 September, North Korean missiles produced in 2024 used in Ukraine
<Conflict Armament Research> 2024 February, North Korean missile relies on recent electronic components
<Conflict Armament Research> 2024 January, Documenting a North Korean missile in Ukraine
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<Korea JoongAng Daily> 2025-7-18, UN's North Korean sanction-monitoring team shares evidence of Pyongyang-Moscow military cooperation.
<CNN> 2025-7-2, North Korea to send as many as 30,000 troops to bolster Russia’s forces, Ukrainian officials say.
<CBS> 2025-5-2, How a routine hire at a Houston tech firm uncovered an alleged North Korea scheme
<Jiji> 2025-4-7, 2 Japanese Men Suspected of Helping N. Korean IT Worker
War in Ukraine
<MBC> 2025-06-26, 국회 정보위원회 백브리핑 (Background briefing by the National Assembly Intelligence Committee of the ROK).
＜Комсомольская Правда＞2025-06-17,Шойгу сообщил, что КНДР направит 5000 строителей на восстановление Курской области (Shoigu stated that the DPRK will send 5,000 construction workers to help with the reconstruction of the Kursk region.)
<ТАСС> 2025-6-17, КНДР направит 5 тыс. строителей на восстановление Курской области (The DPRK will send 5,000 construction workers to help with the reconstruction of the Kursk region.)
<Yonhap News Agency> 2024-10-29, [속보] 국정원 北폭풍군단 파병으로 알려져…입대연령 낮아 (National Intelligence Service Known to Deploy North Korean Storm Corps)
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<Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team> 2025-7-18, MSMT Briefs UN Member States on its First Report (July 17, New York).
<US Department of State> 2025-7-17, MSMT Report on Unlawful North Korea-Russia Military Cooperation.
<Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team> 2025-5-29, Unlawful Military Cooperation including Arms Transfers between North Korea and Russia
<United States Mission to the United Nations> 2025-5-20, Remarks at the General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Human Rights in the DPRK
<US Justice Department> 2025-1-23, Two North Korean Nationals and Three Facilitators Indicted for Multi-Year Fraudulent Remote Information Technology Worker Scheme that Generated Revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (IT Worker)
<US Justice Department> 2024-12-12, Fourteen North Korean Nationals Indicted for Carrying Out Multi-Year Fraudulent Information Technology Worker Scheme and Related Extortions (IT Worker)
<Republic of Korea, National Intelligence Service> 2024-10-18, 국정원, 북한 특수부대 러-우크라 전쟁 참전 확인 (NIS confirms participation of North Korean special forces in Russia-Ukraine war)
<US Justice Department> 2024-8-8, Justice Department Disrupts North Korean Remote IT Worker Fraud Schemes Through Charges and Arrest of Nashville Facilitator (IT Worker)
<UK, Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation> 2024-9-12, Advisory on North Korean IT Workers.
<US, Defense Intelligence Agency> 2024-5-29, North Korea Enabling Russian Missile Strikes Against Ukraine
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Non-proliferation
<United Nations Security Council> 2025-5-7, Non-proliferation/Democratic People's Republic of Korea (James Byrne, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Open Source Centre, presented DPRK’s illegal coal and iron ore exports.) UN Web TV
<United Nations Security Council> 2024-12-18, Non-proliferation/Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Jonah Leff, Director of Operations for Conflict Armament Research (CAR), presented CAR’s additional findings after examining the remnants of a missile recovered in Ukraine.) UN Web TV
<United Nations Security Council> 2024-6-28, Non-proliferation/Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Jonah Leff, Director of Operations for Conflict Armament Research (CAR), presented CAR’s findings after examining the remnants of a missile recovered in Ukraine.) UN Web TV
<IAEA> 2025-6-9, IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors
<IAEA> 2025-3-3, IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors
<IAEA> 2024-11-20, IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors
<IAEA> 2024-9-9, IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors
<IAEA> 2024-8-26, Application of Safeguards in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
<IAEA> 2024-6-3, IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors
<IAEA> 2024-3-4, IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors
Human rights abuse
<United Nations> 2025-5-20, Human Rights Abuses and Violations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - High-level plenary, General Assembly, 79th session
TOPICS:
DPRK & War in Ukraine (Updated!)
Spotlight
Catch Up on the Latest Highlights!
July 20, 2025
Source: The MSMT.
MSMT Unveils Evidence of Sanctions‑Violating DPRK–Russia Military Ties at UN Briefing
<Summary>
On July 17, 2025, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) held a formal briefing at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to present its first report, titled “Unlawful North Korea–Russia Military Cooperation.” (The report released on May 29, 2025 is available in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, and Arabic)
The session was attended by representatives from the 11 MSMT member states—Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States—as well as delegates from over 40 other UN member countries.
The MSMT was established in October 2024 as a successor to the UN Security Council’s Panel of Experts under the 1718 Sanctions Committee, which was disbanded following a Russian veto. Its mandate is to monitor and report on violations and evasions of UN sanctions on DPRK.
According to the US Department of State website, “the MSMT welcomes interest from additional states to participate in the mechanism.”
July 2, 2025
<CNN> 2025-7-2, North Korea sending up to 30k more troops to fight for Russia.
North Korea to send as many as 30,000 troops to bolster Russia’s forces, Ukrainian officials say.
<Summary>
North Korea is reportedly preparing to send 25,000 to 30,000 additional troops to Russia, according to Ukrainian intelligence and corroborated by Western sources.
Around 11,000 North Korean soldiers were secretly deployed to Russia in late 2024. About 4,000 of them were killed or injured in combat, particularly during the defense of Russia’s Kursk region.
Ukrainian assessment states the Russian Ministry of Defense will supply equipment and arms, with the goal of integrating North Korean troops into Russian combat units, including potential involvement in large-scale offensive operations.
Satellite imagery shows troop transport ships and IL-76 cargo planes at Russian and North Korean ports and airports, suggesting preparations for further deployments.
Ukrainian officials and analysts suggest Pyongyang aims to deepen its "blood debt" with Moscow to gain long-term leverage, despite high short-term losses.
(Edited by DPRK Monitor)
June 26, 2025
<MBC> 2025-06-26, 국회 정보위원회 백브리핑 (Background briefing by the National Assembly Intelligence Committee of the ROK).
ROK National Intelligence Service (NIS) Assessment of DPRK-Russia Military Cooperation
Russia may launch a major offensive in July or August.
In October 2023, North Korea deployed 11,000 personnel to Russia, followed by an additional 4,000 troops.
Russia recently announced the deployment of 6,000 military engineers and construction units for reconstruction in Kursk.
NIS believes further deployments could occur as early as July or August, citing past patterns and ongoing recruitment efforts in North Korea.
Russia is believed to have provided economic aid, air defense systems, and electronic warfare equipment, along with technical support for space launch engines, drones, and missile guidance systems.
(Edited by DPRK Monitor)
June 17, 2025
<Комсомольская Правда> 2025-06-17, Шойгу сообщил, что КНДР направит 5000 строителей на восстановление Курской области
Shoigu stated that the DPRK will send 5,000 construction workers to help with the reconstruction of the Kursk region.
May 20, 2025
Source: UN Web TV
“The DPRK’s unlawful nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles programs is inextricably linked to the regime’s human rights abuses as the programs are financed through the forced labor of North Korean citizens, at home and abroad.”