By April 2025, the entire military contingent of the DPRK in the Kursk region can be destroyed – ISW

North Korean soldier captured. Photo: social networks of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi

According to the Institute for the Study of War, North Korean troops participating in hostilities in the Kursk region are suffering critically high losses. If the situation does not change, the entire contingent of 12,000 servicemen may be killed or wounded by mid-April 2025.

Source: ISW

Details: According to the report, North Korean forces have been suffering approximately 92 casualties per day since entering hostilities in December 2024. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said at the beginning of January 2025 that 3,800 military personnel from North Korea had already been killed or wounded. According to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, as of January 13, 2025, 300 North Koreans had been killed and another 2,700 wounded.

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ISW analysts note that if the current rate of losses continues, the entire contingent of 12,000 North Korean soldiers could be wiped out in 12 weeks (by mid-April 2025).

Literally: “North Korean forces are likely to continue to suffer the higher ratio of wounded to dead that is typical of an armed conflict. It is unclear whether or if wounded North Korean soldiers will return to combat.”

Key findings:

• On the night of January 15-16, Ukrainian troops struck an oil refinery in the Voronezh region and a powder factory in the Tambov region.
• According to estimates, the entire North Korean contingent of about 12,000 troops stationed in the Kursk region could be killed or wounded in combat by mid-April 2025 if North Korean forces continue to suffer current high casualties.
• On January 16, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Prime Minister of Great Britain Keir Starmer signed the historic “Centenary Partnership Agreement”. The agreement outlines Ukrainian-British cooperation for the next 100 years and confirms the UK’s continued support for Ukraine.
• It is reported that the Russian and Transnistrian authorities are discussing the possibility of purchasing Russian gas for Transnistria through an intermediary. This will avoid the need to obtain permits from various states to use the Turkish Stream and Transbalkan Stream gas pipelines to supply Russian gas to pro-Russian, unrecognized Transnistria.
• Ukrainian troops advanced in the Kursk region.
• Russian troops advanced near Chasovoy Yar, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhovo and Velika Novosilka.