Ukraine’s intelligence services revealed on Tuesday that North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are making adjustments following significant casualties. Estimates from U.S. and Ukrainian officials suggest that between 10,000 and 12,000 North Korean soldiers are currently in Russia, primarily focused on the Kursk front of the ongoing conflict.
According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR), at least 30 North Korean personnel have been killed or wounded during their operations in Kursk. The GUR reported that North Korean units are enhancing their security measures to counter the threat posed by Ukrainian drone strikes. “After serious losses, North Korean units began setting up additional observation posts to detect drones from the Ukrainian security and defense forces,” the GUR stated on its official Telegram channel.
The intelligence report indicated that North Korean troops are organizing into assault groups of 20 to 30 soldiers while moving in smaller squads of up to six during attacks, with red tape used for identification purposes. The GUR noted, “The constant accumulation of assault groups by the personnel of the DPRK army in the Kursk region indicates that Moscow does not want to lose the pace of offensive actions.”
In a related development, the Security Service of Ukraine claimed to have intercepted a phone call between a nurse at a Moscow hospital and her husband, a soldier at the front. In the call, the nurse mentioned that over 200 wounded North Korean soldiers had been admitted to a nearby hospital within two days, questioning their status as “elite” troops.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed that North Korean soldiers are engaged in combat in Kursk alongside Russian forces and acknowledged that they have sustained casualties, but specific numbers were not disclosed. “I would say certainly in the realm of dozens, several dozens,” he added when pressed for details.
An unnamed senior U.S. official informed the Associated Press that a couple of hundred North Korean troops had been killed or wounded in the fighting in Kursk. This deployment follows an increased alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang over the past two years, which has included North Korean munitions being sent to support Russian operations in Ukraine.
Condemnation of this partnership has come from Ukraine’s foreign allies, with White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby describing it as a “dramatic move.” In response, both the U.S. and European Union have imposed additional sanctions on individuals and entities involved in North Korean military assistance to Russia.
Credit: ABC News
