North Korean arms more significant than troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine

But Sam Cranny-Evans, of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, says the North Korean troops could be used in a variety of other roles: near the frontline “to support logistics and engineering – moving ammunition, digging fortifications” or deeper to the rear or inside Russia to free more of the Kremlin’s own troops, or simply to go “on a training rotation” where they would “simply be gaining combat knowledge”.