Overview

• On July 24, state media reported Kim Jong Un called on soldiers at an artillery drill to prepare for “a real war” and destroy the enemy in every battle.
• KCNA said he ordered intensified combat exercises and directed the army to remain at maximum alert for imminent conflict.
• Pyongyang and Moscow signed a mutual defense pact in June 2024 that underpins North Korea’s military backing for Russia’s Ukraine campaign.
• Intelligence agencies estimate over 10,000 North Korean troops and heavy weapons have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region since mid-2024.
• Roughly 600 North Korean soldiers have died and thousands more have been wounded in the Kursk front, prompting alarm in the United States, Japan and South Korea.