North Korean troop deployment to Russia was an initiative from Pyongyang, not the Kremlin. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin quickly endorsed it, according to The New York Times. The agency notes that when North Korean troops began arriving in Russia this fall,

South Korea's military said on Monday it has detected signs of North Korea preparing to send more troops and weapons, including suicide drones, to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

North Korea demonstrated this year that it could produce ballistic missiles and supply them to Russia for use against Ukraine in a matter of months.