Attacking Ukrainians In Kursk Report Killing 100s of North Koreans In Past Few Days

North Korean casualties are increasing exponentially as the new Ukrainian Kursk offensive finds many of the North Koreans in vulnerable positions where their lack of training, absence of drones and communication difficulties make them easy targets for attacking Ukrainian forces.

Among the Russian villages attacked by Ukraine in the past few days were several held by North Korean troops who are now dead. JL

Valentyna Romanenko reports in Ukraine Pravda and Mia Jankowicz reports in AOL:

3,800 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in Russia's Kursk region to date, one third of their force. The Russian army lost "up to a battalion of infantry, including North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers," in fighting in the village of Makhnovka in Kursk over the weekend. Ukraine's 8th Special Operations Regiment killed 13 North Koreans in the past day. 

Soldiers from the 8th Separate Special Operations Regiment of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) have killed 13 North Korean servicemen in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

Source: press service for the Special Operations Forces

Details: SOF soldiers killed five North Korean fighters in a gunfight and another eight using drones during special operations.

After the battle, the SOF personnel conducted an inspection of the North Korean soldiers’ bodies and their personal documents. One of the soldiers had an assault rifle with a collimator sight, a Chinese-Russian Azart radio station, a drone detector, as well as an ID that differed from the usual military card. The special forces noted that these findings may indicate his affiliation with the officer corps.

Among other things, the North Korean soldier was carrying a letter addressed to the party [presumably the Workers’ Party of Korea – ed.].

 

AOL Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a podcast interview released Sunday that 3,800 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in Russia's Kursk region to date.

Zelenskyy's figure suggests that a third of the North Korean troops brought over to fight alongside Russia have been taken out of action.

"12,000 has arrived. Today, 3,800 killed or wounded," he told podcaster Lex Fridman, but he cautioned that North Korea could send many more, giving a figure as high as half a million troops.

Estimates of North Korean casualties have varied since intelligence agencies reported in October that it was sending troops to help Russian President Vladimir Putin defend territory seized by Ukraine in the summer.

In late December, the White House estimated that more than 1,000 North Koreans had been killed or wounded in the space of a single week, amid mass dismounted attacks.

And in his nightly address on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that the Russian army had lost "up to a battalion of infantry, including North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers," in fighting in the village of Makhnovka in Kursk.

Concerns for Europe

Zelenskyy offered the latest casualty figures as part of a broader argument about the dangers to Europe if the US retreats from NATO.

President-elect Donald Trump has long been critical of NATO and the defense spending of some of its members, leading to concerns that he could slash support for the alliance or even walk away.

Zelenskyy said that if Trump decides to leave NATO once back in office, "Putin will destroy Europe."

He also argued that European countries are much less willing and able to raise massive armies compared to an autocracy like North Korea.

While Ukraine has around 980,000 military personnel, the militaries of its European allies are a fraction of the size, Zelenskyy said.

"Can Europe bring people together? No," he said. "Will Europe be able to build an army consisting of two to three million people? No, Europe will not want to do this."

Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine's ambassador to South Korea, told Voice of America in November that the number of North Korean troops aiding Russia could soon reach 15,000, with troops rotated out every two to three months.

That could mean about 100,000 North Korean soldiers serving in Russia within a year, he added.