Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shared a drink after announcing their alliance this summer.VLADIMIR SMIRNOV/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesNorth Korean troops in Russia help Putin beyond sheer manpower needs — they help him at home, too.The ISW wrote on Sunday that Pyongyang's deployments help Putin avoid another mobilization, for now.Yet, given Russia's current casualties, that only sustains the war for about three months, ISW said.North Korea's manpower injection for the Kremlin allows Russian leader Vladimir Putin to avoid another political stumbling block at home, according to the Institute for the Study of War.The Washington-based think tank said on Sunday that the influx of fresh troops gives Putin a way to, at least temporarily, avoid a second involuntary mobilization.Russia's first mobilization of some 300,000 reservists was announced in November 2022, a move that tanked public opinion of the war as families of drafted soldiers fretted that they would be sent into combat and casualties among reservists mounted."ISW has repeatedly observed efforts by Russian authorities to delay highly unpopular involuntary reserve call-ups," ISW analysts wrote.Putin and his generals have since repeatedly signaled a need for another call-up but have held off on a second mobilization wave in favor of an aggressive recruitment drive.