Russia will update its school history textbooks to include the role of North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine, according to media reports.
Work on the revised textbook is underway and will feature information about battles involving North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, Russian media outlet RBC reported, citing Mikhail Myagkov, the research director of the Russian Military Historical Society.
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The society is a state-backed institution tasked with shaping Russia’s official historical narrative.
After months of indirect denial or silence, Russia acknowledged in the spring of 2025 that North Korean troops fought alongside its forces in the war against Ukraine.
Myagkov added that the military history textbook for 10th- and 11th-grade students will also include material on the use of drones, battlefield tactics and new weapons employed during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Huge losses
Under a mutual defense pact, North Korea is believed to have sent around 14,000 troops to support Russian forces in the war against Ukraine, about 6,000 of whom are estimated to have been killed in combat, according to Reuters.
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North Korean soldiers also played a role in repelling a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region in August 2024.
Ukrainian forces held parts of the border region for several months before Moscow regained control of the territory in early 2025.
North Korean soldiers were later reportedly involved in clearing anti-tank and anti-personnel mines left behind by Ukrainian troops in Kursk.
Since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Pyongyang has supplied Moscow not only with troops but also with military equipment, including artillery shells and rockets.
In return, Russia has provided North Korea with money, food and military technology.
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