Russia and North Korea became treaty allies in June 2024, and North Korean soldiers have since joined Russian forces in their invasion of Ukraine. But beyond the sole confines of the Ukrainian battlefield, this alliance will have long-term implications for the Korean People’s Army’s (KPA) capabilities.

Although pundits often focus on nuclear warheads and missile technology only, Pyongyang’s conventional forces will be deeply impacted by the alliance with Russia. Indeed, in three domains, infantry tactics, air capabilities, and submarine technology, North Korea will likely benefit from Russia’s assistance to alter the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula.

First, the KPA Ground Force is bound to learn tremendously from participating in the Ukrainian conflict. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a high-intensity land war, the type of war that North Korean planners have feared since 1953. That they were eager to send several thousand troops to gain veterancy on the battlefield is thus unsurprising. This allows them to gain invaluable combat experience that will turn the KPA into a more combative, lethal force.

Indeed, despite taking significant casualties, the KPA is quickly learning key lessons from its Ukrainian campaign. For instance, North Korean soldiers on the field now move into smaller groups than what their training asks for in order to reduce casualties to drones. They also use lone soldiers as bait to attract drones close to the ground while sharpshooters stay hidden to down them.

The Ukrainian campaign will probably impact individual soldiers’ personal kits in the coming years. North Korean soldiers received Russian gear upon their arrival near the battlefield. Notably, they have been reequipped with the Russian army’s standard-issue assault rifle, the AK-12.

Therefore, the KPA forces will return with feedback and requests for the higher-ups. They will want to teach their new anti-drone tactics to their colleagues and tell them about the importance of adopting drones in large numbers to succeed in modern warfare. Soldiers coming back home will also lament reverting back to their copies of older AK-47 and AK-74 rifles and will probably encourage the leadership to seek newer weapons.

Air capabilities are the second area in which the alliance with Russia will leave long-lasting marks. North Korea relies on a handful of derelict fighter aircraft to defend its airspace and possibly challenge the US-ROK alliance. Modern aircraft are extremely expensive, and Pyongyang would typically be unable to afford them. However, Moscow is reportedly considering sending MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter aircraft as a reward for North Korea’s troop deployment in Ukraine. Hence, Pyongyang may soon field a noteworthy air force, a first in many decades.

To secure North Korean airspace, Russia has seemingly supplied air defense missile systems. These may include S-400 long-range surface-to-air missiles, one of Moscow’s most advanced anti-air systems. Pyongyang is indeed eager to gain possession of such systems, as it complained of South Korean drones violating its airspace in recent months and knows full well its vulnerability against Seoul’s superiority in the air.

Finally, the alliance with Russia will greatly affect North Korea’s naval power. The current Korean People’s Navy’s submarine fleet is relatively numerous, counting perhaps 71 boats. But most of them are midget submarines with minimal reach and offensive power.

It musters around 20 Type-033 attack submarines, a Chinese variant of the Soviet Romeo-class boat designed in the 1950s. Even its most recent machine from the Sinpo class is based on old Soviet designs. Its submarines are short-ranged and behind in sensors, weapons, and stealth. Given the vessels’ already long lifespans, how many are still operational is uncertain.

With only one submarine equipped with an air-independent propulsion system, most of North Korea’s fleet must surface frequently to take in atmospheric oxygen, making them easily detectable. Therefore, the Korean People’s Navy is reportedly looking to retrofit its Romeos with modern sonar and radar equipment. As a weapons expert put it, these noisy and short-range boats are “quite vulnerable to allied anti-submarine warfare.”

North Korea has been developing for years its ability to fire a nuclear-armed ballistic missile from a submarine. Such a system would be necessary to gain strong confidence that Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal could survive an enemy’s first strike and launch nuclear weapons back at the aggressor. A nuclear-propelled boat is required to possess a truly viable at-sea deterrent. North Korea announced it was constructing one, although its level of completion is unclear.

Fortunately for Pyongyang, a domain where its new Russian ally excels is submarines. The late Soviet Union already mustered advanced and quiet conventional and nuclear-propelled submarines, and Moscow’s newest Yasen-class attack submarines are on par with their Western counterparts in terms of stealth and lethality.

South Korean officials believe that Pyongyang actively seeks to obtain from Russia technologies enabling it to muster second-strike capability. And Moscow may oblige. Last November, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Paparo, assessed that the Kremlin was likely to provide submarine and propulsion technology to the North Koreans.

All of these military improvements underscore the strategic value of North Korea’s alliance with Russia. As long as the Kremlin requires ammunition, weapons, and soldiers to reinforce its forces in Ukraine, all things that Pyongyang has no shortage of, Kim Jong Un will have the leverage to secure valuable military capabilities and combat experience to turn the KPA into a more modern, more lethal force.