Recent analysis suggests that North Korea’s profits from deploying troops to Ukraine and exporting military supplies to Russia could reach a staggering 14.4 billion USD.
According to a report titled, The Economic Impact of North Korea’s Troop Deployment to Russia and Military Supplies Export, released on March 13 by Lim Soo-ho, a senior researcher at the National Security Strategy Institute, North Korea could earn between 7.67 billion USD and 14.4 billion USD from these activities between August 2023 and December 2025. This translates to a minimum of 11.47 trillion KRW (about 7.7 billion USD) and a maximum of 21 trillion KRW (about 14 billion USD).
Intelligence estimates suggest that North Korea has deployed over 20,000 combat troops and engineers to Russia in four waves. The first deployment reportedly occurred on October 1, 2024, with subsequent waves in January, August, and September through December 2025.
While large-scale military supply exports officially began in September 2023, Lim noted that Russian cargo ships had already been observed loading military supplies at North Korean ports, including Najin, as early as August of that year.
The report speculates that North Korea employs a tiered payment system for its deployed personnel. According to this system, commanders (2% of the total force) receive 5,000 USD, technicians (8%) earn 3,500 USD, non-commissioned officers (10%) get 3,000 USD, and regular soldiers (80%) are paid 2,800 USD.
Death benefits are estimated to range from 6,000 USD to 10,000 USD per individual, depending on rank. Based on these figures, North Korea’s direct revenue from troop salaries and death benefits alone is projected to be around 620 million USD.
If the current situation persists, Lim forecasts that North Korea could generate an annual profit of 560 million USD solely from troop deployments starting this year.
Notably, Lim believes that the confirmed payments North Korea has received represent only 4% to 19.6% of the estimated profits. He explained that the confirmed payments are limited to tangible items that can be easily observed. The majority of the compensation for troop deployments and arms exports is likely in the form of sensitive military technologies or related precision components and materials, which are difficult to detect through conventional means and may be received in the future.