Russia is preparing to receive an additional 30,000 North Korean troops and new ballistic missile launchers to support its ongoing military operations, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated. During his evening video address on July 25, Zelensky cited intelligence reports indicating that Moscow and Pyongyang are expanding their military cooperation.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Russia wants to receive another 30,000 troops from North Korea,” Zelensky said. “Since June, preparations have been underway in Russia’s Voronezh region to receive them.” Zelensky added that North Korea is also preparing to transfer additional launchers for ballistic missiles to the Russian military. He framed the deepening partnership as a broader international security issue, noting that Moscow is providing North Korean forces with direct combat experience. “This is a threat not only to Ukraine,” Zelensky stated. “Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war, improve its weapons, and gain real combat experience in using them. All of this is a threat to everyone in Asia who is within range of North Korean missiles. We will counter this.” Systemic military-technical cooperation The anticipated deployment in the Voronezh region follows an extensive history of arms transfers and military support from Pyongyang. According to an assessment by Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR), North Korea has become one of Russia’s most critical foreign military suppliers, currently providing between 25% and 40% of the Russian military’s artillery ammunition. HUR characterized the military-technical cooperation between the two nations as “systemic.”