The North Korean military has suffered very heavy losses fighting Ukraine for Russia. According to Western intelligence, about 4,000 soldiers were killed or injured. Heavy casualties have negatively affected North Korea’s combat operations.
North Korean forces fighting for Russia have suffered heavy losses, negatively impacting combat operations, according to a new assessment by Western intelligence agencies.
In the fall, about 11,000 North Korean troops deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a bold invasion months earlier. Officials said that within weeks of their arrival, North Korean forces had already suffered significant losses.
The British Ministry of Defense announced on Friday that as of mid-January, around 1,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed and another 3,000 wounded in fighting with Ukraine. This is more than a third of the number of troops stationed in Kursk.
In a new intelligence update, the Defense Ministry said North Korea’s high loss rate over a short period of time was due to “North Korean forces conducting offensive combat operations in support of Russian attempts to dislodge Ukrainian forces from Kursk.” “This is almost certainly significantly reducing capacity.” ”, referring to the official name of North Korea. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Russian soldiers fire at Ukrainian military positions in the Kursk region in October. Photo from the Russian Ministry of Defense press service (via AP, File)
A Pentagon spokesperson said earlier this month that North Korea’s losses included various ranks, including some senior officials.
Conflict analysts at the Institute for War Studies, a think tank that has been closely monitoring the war, said last week that if combat loss rates continue, North Korea will lose all of its troops in Kursk within months.
Despite suffering heavy losses fighting for Russia, North Korean forces “only achieved tactical gains at Kursk,” Britain said. “Russian and North Korean militaries almost certainly face interoperability issues. They do not share a common language, and North Korean forces will almost certainly have difficulty integrating into Russian command and control structures. are having difficulties.”
North Korean troops had no experience in large-scale combat operations before being sent to Russia, and were trained in infantry tactics, drone flight, artillery, and trench clearance operations. In December, the White House announced that North Korea’s military had used “human wave tactics” to attack with little effect.
North Korean soldiers during a military parade in Pyongyang in April 2022. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Agency, via AP, File
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a former Pentagon spokesman, said the United States considers the North Korean military to be well-disciplined, competent and capable soldiers. Ukrainian soldiers also say they were highly skilled in combat, while claiming they were treated as expendable.
“What we’re seeing on the battlefield is that they clearly pose a threat,” Ryder told reporters last week, adding that the Ukrainian military is doing a good job holding the line. However, he said the fighting was “very tough.”
Earlier this month, Ukraine announced it had captured two wounded North Korean soldiers in Kursk. One of them believed he was being sent to Russia for training purposes, not to actually fight in a war, Kiev said.
North Korea and Russia significantly strengthened their defense ties during the Ukraine war. Over the summer, the two countries signed an agreement promising military assistance if one side was attacked. In addition to soldiers, North Korea also provides Moscow with weapons such as missiles and artillery shells.
