The Main Intelligence Unit of Ukraine's Defense Ministry said at least 30 North Korean soldiers were killed and wounded in weekend fighting in Russia's western Kursk region, prompting commanders to send reinforcements to frontline units.
“North Korean troops were re-armed after losses in the attack” around the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba and Martynovka in the Kursk region, GUR wrote in a post on its official Telegram channel.
On December 14 and 15, GUR said, “DPRK army units suffered heavy losses — at least 30 soldiers were killed and wounded,” using the acronym for the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
At least three North Korean soldiers have gone missing in the village of Kurilovka in Kursk, the post said.
PHOTOS: A Ukrainian tank is shown on September 16, 2024 in the Kursk region of Russia. (Worldwide Pictures Ukraine via Getty)
“Due to the losses, the offensive teams were filled with new personnel, mainly from the 94th division of the DPRK army, to continue fighting in the area,” GUR wrote.
On Saturday, the GUR said that units made up of Russian and North Korean soldiers had lost around 200 people. Ukrainian FPVs have inflicted heavy losses on North Korean forces, the statement said.
GUR also said on Saturday that the language barrier between the North Korean and Russian forces made it difficult to operate on the battlefield. In another fire incident, GUR said confused North Korean soldiers opened fire on Chechen vehicles, killing eight fighters.
Pyongyang is believed to have sent up to 12,000 troops to Russia in recent months, according to a November briefing by Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. They are believed to be concentrated in the Kursk region of western Russia, where the Ukrainian military seized the dramatic August incident.
Sources told ABC News in November that North Koreans could be among the nearly 50,000 troops ready to fight an invasion of Kursk.
MORE: Russia prepares to deploy 50,000 troops, likely to include North Koreans, sources say.
Russian leaders have said they will not consider any peace talks while Kursk is still under siege, although officials in Kyiv have made maintaining Russian territory a key part of the talks.
The supply of troops to North Korea marked a new level of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. The two neighbors have grown closer since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and North Korea already supplies Moscow with military weapons and missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Kyiv “has the first information that the Russians have started using North Korean troops in their attacks — a large number of them.”
PHOTOS: Soldiers are photographed during a military parade at Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 27, 2023. (Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)
“The Russians put them in joint units and use them for operations in the Kursk region,” Zelenskyy said in a statement posted on his Telegram page. “So far, there is only one. But we have information that suggests that their use may extend to other key areas. There are already visible losses in this category.”
“We will defend ourselves, including these North Koreans,” Zelenskyy said. “And we will continue to work together with all our partners to stop this war – to stop it decisively, with assured peace.”
Ukrainian military says 'heavy' casualties among North Koreans in Kursk abcnews.go.com
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