This is stated in a report by the South Korean Defense Research Institute (KIDA), which was retold by Newsweek and NK News.

The report says that the DPRK received the greatest benefit from the supply of equipment and ammunition — $ 19.2 billion. Pyongyang also earned $630 million through technology transfer and $280 million from sending military personnel.

For their assessment, South Korean researchers used information that the DPRK had sent 21,000 containers of weapons and ammunition to Russia only by sea.

The institute calculated the profit from the deployment of North Korean troops based on data according to which Russia pays a monthly salary to 11,000 soldiers from the DPRK, as well as a one-time bonus. The report notes that Pyongyang withholds some of the money from these payments before sending the remaining amount to the military.

According to Reuters, about 50% of the ammunition used by the Russian military in recent months has been supplied from North Korea.

North Korea, according to Ukraine, South Korea and the United States, has sent 11-12 thousand soldiers to Russia to participate in the Russian-Ukrainian war. North Korean military personnel were involved in the fighting in the Kursk region. In January, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that North Korea had lost about four thousand soldiers killed and wounded. The same estimates on North Korean losses have now been presented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, reports meduza.io.