The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Directorate of Intelligence said Monday that at least 30 North Korean soldiers were killed and wounded during weekend fighting in Russia's western Kursk region, prompting commanders to send reinforcements to frontline units.
“North Korean army units are being reequipped after losses in attacks” around the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba and Martynovka in the Kursk region, the GUR wrote in a message on its official Telegram channel.
On December 14 and 15, the GUR said that “units of the DPRK military suffered significant losses – at least thirty soldiers were killed and injured,” using the abbreviation for the country's official name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
At least three North Korean troops have gone missing around the village of Kurilovka in Kursk, the post said.
PHOTO: A Ukrainian tank is pictured on September 16, 2024 in the Kursk region of Russia. (Global Images Ukraine via Getty)
“Due to the losses, the strike groups are being supplemented with new personnel, especially from the 94th Separate Brigade of the North Korean Army, to continue active combat operations in the area,” the GUR wrote.
On Saturday, the GUR said units composed of Russian and North Korean forces had suffered a total of about 200 casualties. Ukrainian FPV drones have inflicted particularly heavy casualties among North Korean forces, the statement said.
The GUR also claimed on Saturday that the language barrier between North Korean and Russian forces is complicating battlefield operations. In one friendly fire incident, confused North Korean troops opened fire on Chechen vehicles, killing eight fighters, the GUR said.
Pyongyang is believed to have sent up to 12,000 troops to Russia in recent months, according to a November briefing from Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. Their focus is believed to be on the Kursk region of western Russia, where Ukrainian forces gained ground in a surprise offensive in August.
Sources told ABC News in November that North Koreans may be among some 50,000 troops being prepared for a significant counteroffensive in Kursk.
MORE: Russia preparing counter-offensive with 50,000 troops, including possibly North Koreans, sources say
Russian leaders have said they will not consider peace talks as long as Kursk remains partially occupied, although officials in Kiev see their retention of Russian territory as an important negotiating tool.
North Korea's supply of troops marked a new level of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. The two neighbors have grown closer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with North Korea already supplying Moscow with artillery ammunition and ballistic missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Kiev has “preliminary data that the Russians have started using North Korean soldiers in their attacks – a significant number of them.”
PHOTO: Soldiers are pictured during a military parade at Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 27, 2023. (Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)
“The Russians are incorporating them into combined units and using them in operations in the Kursk region,” Zelensky said in a statement on his Telegram page. “So far only there. But we have information indicating that its use could expand to other parts of the front line. There are already noticeable losses in this category as well.”
“We will defend ourselves, including against these North Koreans,” Zelenskyy added. “And we will continue to act in coordination with all our partners to stop this war – to stop it decisively, with guaranteed peace.”
Ukrainian forces claim 'significant' casualties among North Koreans in Kursk, originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
