Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has claimed that around 30 North Korean troops were either killed or wounded in fighting against the Ukrainian army over the weekend in Russia’s Kursk border region.
The North Korean casualties occurred across three villages in Kursk, where Russia has been attempting for four months to quash a Ukrainian incursion, according to the agency, known by its acronym GUR. The agency also stated that at least three North Korean servicemen went missing in a separate village in Kursk.
The poor integration and ongoing communication problems between Russian and North Korean forces are expected to continue causing friction in Russian military operations in the Kursk region. It was not possible to independently verify the Ukrainian claims, which represent the first reports of North Korean casualties in the nearly three-year war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred questions about the claims to the Russian Defence Ministry, which did not comment. North Korea has reportedly sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to support its war effort, according to the Pentagon and Ukrainian officials. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged unwavering support for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine under a mutual defense pact.
Military analysts suggest that the language barrier has hindered combat coordination between Russian and North Korean troops. “The poor integration and ongoing communication problems between Russian and North Korean forces will likely continue to cause friction in Russian military operations in Kursk… in the near term,” said the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, on Sunday.
Ukrainian officials reported on November 5 that their forces had, for the first time, engaged with North Korean units recently deployed to assist Russia. Ukraine had seized land in Russia’s Kursk border region last August, marking the first occupation of Russian territory since the Second World War. The operation embarrassed the Kremlin and aimed to counter the continuously grim news from the front lines.
While the incursion has not significantly altered the course of the war, Russia has maintained its offensive, particularly in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, despite heavy losses.
