We study asymptotic dynamics of Kuramoto oscillators with inertia and frustration using the classical perturbation theory of ordinary differential equation systems. Frustration also known as the phase-lag poses challenges for the mathematical analysis of asymptotic dynamics due to the breakdown of total phase conservation and the gradient structure. The effect of frustration, represented by an additive angular constant in the sinusoidal interaction term, transforms the Kuramoto model into a perturbed one relative to the nonfrustration regime. We apply the Alekseev–Gröbner formula to explicitly characterize the relationship between perturbed and unperturbed systems, and we demonstrate the emergence of phase-locking in the perturbed system from the unperturbed one. Finally, we provide a sufficient framework for asymptotic phase-locking in terms of system parameters and initial data. In particular, we explicitly compute the rotation numbers of the Kuramoto oscillators.