Russia allegedly pays DPRK billions for arms and troops: What lies beneath these numbers

Defense Express explains this. 

North Korea is reportedly ramping up ammunition and weapon production for Russia, while expanding its military-industrial complex, according to The Wall Street Journal. Preliminary estimates suggest Russia has already paid $5.5 billion for weapons and $576 million for North Korean troops.

“These amounts — $5.5 billion for weapons and $576 million for troops — carry significant weight,” Defense Express notes.

Reports suggest Russia is providing North Korea with energy resources and industrial equipment to ensure the funds are directed toward weapon production. Russia’s assistance allegedly extends to modernizing the KN-25 missile systems, boosting their range to 400 kilometers, a capability Russia desires for its own forces.

The $5.5 billion reportedly covers 100 KN-23 ballistic missiles, 20,000 containers of artillery shells, and several Koksan self-propelled guns and M-1991 MLRS units. With North Korea supplying millions of artillery shells — making up 60% of Russian forces’ stockpile — the price tag seems surprisingly moderate.

As for the $576 million for troops, it raises questions. Reports suggest Russia may have traded Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-27 aircraft for North Korean manpower. Breaking it down, each of the 12,000 troops would cost $48,000 — “excessive, even by Russian standards,” Defense Express notes.

This potential troop deployment signals that for authoritarian regimes, waging war is significantly cheaper than for democratic nations. As Defense Express warns, this imbalance is “a significant warning to the West, one they prefer to overlook for now.”