““A third of the soldiers were killed or wounded.” Pyongyang is interested in sending even more troops to the Kursk region — Forbes January 16, 12:41 Share: North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and his daughter Kim Ju-e (Photo: KCNA via REUTERS) North Korea has transferred 12,000 to the Kursk region of the Russian Federation soldiers, and so far a third of them have been killed and wounded, so the North Koreans may need reinforcements”, — write on: ua.news
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and his daughter Kim Ju-ae (Photo: KCNA via REUTERS)
North Korea has dropped 12,000 soldiers into the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, and so far a third of them have been killed and wounded, so the North Koreans may need reinforcements, and soon.
Forbes writes about this, analyzing the level of losses of soldiers of the North Korean army in Kurshchyna and the development of the situation on this part of the front in the near future.
However, as the publication emphasizes, losses in the ranks of the North Koreans do not mean that they do not exist “serious warriors”. Yes, according to Ukrainian military officer Volodymyr Demchenko, soldiers from the DPRK have “impeccable shooting training.”
Despite heavy casualties from Ukrainian mines, artillery and drones, the North Koreans continue to advance and, as Forbes points out, have driven Ukrainian soldiers out of at least one village.
However, the author of the article emphasizes, infantry attacks, mostly without the support of armored vehicles, are not a unique North Korean phenomenon. And it is the infantry that bears the brunt of the fighting. In particular, more than 200 North Koreans were killed or wounded during the first assault in the Kursk region. One failed assault earlier this month could have resulted in 400 enemy unit casualties.
By mid-January, 3,800 of the 12,000 soldiers in North Korea’s 11th Army Corps had been killed or wounded, the article noted. However, according to the publication, North Korea’s losses could be greater if its soldiers did not have good marksmanship training. Unlike Russian servicemen, the infantry of the North Korean army was prepared for battle for years.
However, the 11th Army Corps of the DPRK, which has been reduced by a third, may need reinforcements, and soon, Forbes concluded.
“It is unclear whether Pyongyang has committed to deploying more troops. But the North Korean regime is certainly interested in continuing to send people,” the newspaper writes, recalling that Moscow trades military technology in exchange for additional manpower.
Losses of the North Korean army in the Kursk region are the main thing
On December 16, 2024, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced that North Korean troops fighting as part of the Russian army in the Kursk region lost at least 30 soldiers killed and wounded between December 14 and 15.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that the Russian military is trying to burn the faces of dead North Korean soldiers who participated in battles against Ukrainian troops in order to hide their losses.
On January 9, 2025, at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, President Zelensky announced that the losses of soldiers from North Korea had already reached 4,000.
On January 11, the head of the Ukrainian state announced that the Defense Forces captured two wounded soldiers of the North Korean army in the Kursk region. They were taken to Kyiv, where they were interrogated by SBU investigators.