11 February 2025

Russia has sent hundreds of its officers to North Korea officially for medical treatment. However, their stay there might be part of the military training programme for the North Korean soldiers and the exchange of combat experience. 

Source: ISW (Institute for the Study of War)

Details: Aleksandr Matsegora, the Russian Ambassador to North Korea, said that Russia has already sent hundreds of wounded soldiers to North Korea for medical treatment and rehabilitation. 

However, experts from the Institute for the Study of War pointed out that among the military personnel sent over are officers with combat knowledge gained from the war in Ukraine.   

The experts warn that their stay in North Korea might allow the Russian soldiers not only to rehabilitate but also to prepare and train North Korean forces under the guise of medical treatment. 

This allows the Kremlin to share modern combat experience, especially given North Korea’s need to improve its tactical skills, states ISW.   

ISW also reported that North Korea refused financial compensation from Russia for medical treatment and the stay of the Russian soldiers, which could indicate a strategic agreement between the two countries regarding the exchange of military personnel. 

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 10 February:

• Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov announced the Ukrainian “Drone Line” project on February 10 as part of ongoing Ukrainian efforts to integrate drone and ground operations.
• Ukraine’s efforts to integrate drone operations with ground operations significantly differ from Russian efforts to centralise drone units.
• Ukrainian forces continue to target oil refineries in Russia as part of an ongoing strike campaign against Russian defence industrial enterprises and oil refineries.
• Russian authorities reportedly authorised the systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) held in Russian prisons as early as March 2022.
• The Kremlin may be setting informational conditions to justify an influx of North Korean citizens arriving in Russia to join either the Russian workforce or the Russian military.
• A Russian official claimed that Russia is sending experienced Russian military personnel to North Korea for medical treatment.
• The pro-Russian Moldovan breakaway republic of Transnistria refused aid from the EU to resolve its gas crisis, demonstrating Russia’s continued economic influence over Transnistria and the Kremlin’s prioritisation of the region.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk.
• Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and near Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk.
• Russian milbloggers continue to complain about the systemic issue of Russian forces submitting false reports to Russian military authorities and of high-level Russian officers micromanaging tactical-level units on the battlefield.

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https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/02/11/7497644