The Biden administration has promised to approve new military aid to Ukraine, including a critical air defense system, in the coming days as North Korean troops face rising casualties in their first major deployment to the European conflict. .
U.S. National Security Public Affairs Advisor John Kirby told reporters on Friday that North Korean troops had suffered more than 1,000 casualties in the past week alone in what he described as a failed “human sea” attack near the Kursk border. He said he issued a. Similar numbers have been reported in South Korea.
Kirby said there are also reports of North Korean soldiers taking their own lives instead of surrendering.
“These human wave tactics that we’re seeing aren’t very effective,” Kirby said. “Russian and North Korean military leaders treat these forces as expendable and order desperate attacks against Ukraine’s defenses.”
Kirby said the promised U.S. security aid package would be announced “in the coming days,” but it was unclear when that would be or how much it would include.
The aid surge comes weeks after a meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
In Washington, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, pledged extensive support, including plans to deploy hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, thousands of rockets and hundreds of armored vehicles by mid-January.
The plan also included training Ukrainian recruits at overseas locations and completing a $20 billion loan backed by stuck Russian assets.
The accelerated aid package comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take over as the country’s commander in chief next month. President Trump has criticized the current U.S. response, including that his team is reportedly developing a peace plan that would set aside Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO and possibly transfer territory to Russia. It signals a complete departure from Ukraine policy.
President Trump has repeatedly insisted, without disclosing many details, that the conflict could be ended within 24 hours.
The deployment to North Korea is based on a mutual defense agreement signed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a summit in Pyongyang in June.
Up to 12,000 North Korean troops are estimated to be deployed to support Russian forces in Ukraine, according to previous counts by U.S. and South Korean officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed earlier this week that North Korean casualties in the Kursk region exceeded 3,000, but this figure could not be independently verified.
The North Korean military’s involvement comes in the wake of large-scale material support from North Korea, which reportedly sent more than 10,000 containers containing artillery shells and other military equipment to Russia. It is said that he sent it to
South Korean military officials say North Korea is using the Ukraine conflict to modernize its war capabilities, raising concerns about the growing military threat on the peninsula.
