North Korean troops fighting in Russia’s Kursk region are facing mass casualties, the U.S. has said.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that 1,000 North Korean troops had been “killed or wounded” in the last week fighting against Ukraine.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment by email.
Why It Matters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has contributed to his war effort first through munitions and weapons and now via personnel.
Estimates vary, but between 10,000 and 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to fight alongside Putin’s forces in Russia’s Kursk region where Ukraine staged a surprise incursion on August 6.
The first confirmed battles between North Korean and Ukrainian troops took place on November 5.
Ukraine has said that the North Korean contingent makes up a significant proportion of around 50,000 troops Moscow has deployed to the border region where Kyiv has been losing ground after making swift initial gains.
The reported loss of 1,000 North Korean troops in a single week shows the growing cost that Pyongyang may have to pay for Putin’s war.
What To Know
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told a press briefing on Friday that North Korean units had been carrying out “human wave” attacks against Ukrainian positions in Kursk Oblast.
He said that North Korean troops Russia considers “expendable” are conducting massed, dismounted assaults against Ukrainian positions which “haven’t really been all that effective” and resulted in 1,000 casualties in the past week.
He said that North Korean soldiers are highly indoctrinated and pushing attacks even when it is clear they are “futile.”
Kirby also said that they are taking their own lives rather than surrendering “likely out of fear of reprisal against their families.”
He also told reporters that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with more weapons to help Kyiv’s efforts around Kursk “to beat back these North Korean waves.”
Retired U.S. Vice Admiral Robert Murrett told Newsweek that North Korean troop losses “reflect a new escalation in the war between Ukraine and Russia, and moreover, reflect the continued shortfalls that Moscow has in finding enough troops for the fight with Ukraine.”
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said on Thursday that Ukraine had captured a wounded North Korean soldier in Kursk Oblast and Ukrainian sources posted images allegedly showing the man.
On December 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured since their deployment in Kursk Oblast although this has not been independently confirmed.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said North Korea is allowing Russian command to use lower and higher-ranking North Korean soldiers in infantry-led assaults without armored vehicle support.
What People Are Saying
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby: “They have suffered more than 1,000 killed or wounded in this particular fighting in just the past week of them fighting on the front lines.”
The Institute for the Study of War: “The Russian command is using — and North Korean authorities are permitting Russia to use — lower and higher-ranking North Korean soldiers in infantry-led assaults without armored vehicle support.”
Robert Murrett, a retired U.S. Vice Admiral and current professor of practice at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs told Newsweek: “[Russia’s] inability to expand mobilization and conscription, ongoing reliance on mercenaries, prisoners and now foreign troops underscore the profound challenges that the Kremlin has had in sustaining the war.
“This dynamic will be an important factor in negotiations that are likely to enter a new phase in the weeks and months ahead.”
What Happens Next
Despite the high casualty figures suffered by North Korean forces, Ukraine is estimated to have lost around half the territory it gained in its Kursk incursion and may lose the rest in a matter of months, according to unnamed U.S. officials cited by Bloomberg.
This would deal Kyiv a blow in its bid to use the captured territory as a bargaining chip in any negotiations in 2025 over ending hostilities.
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