South Korean intelligence: Almost 100 North Korean soldiers killed in the Kursk region

At least 100 North Korean soldiers were killed and another thousand were wounded in fighting in Russiaʼs Kursk region.

This was stated by Lee Seong Kwon, a member of the South Korean parliamentary intelligence committee, after a closed briefing by the National Intelligence Service.

The day before, the Associated Press, citing a senior military official, wrote that North Korea had already lost "several hundred" soldiers killed and wounded in the fighting against Ukraine. Lee Seong Kwon explained the discrepancy in the estimate of the number of soldiers killed by a rather conservative analysis by the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.

It is believed that the losses of North Korean troops are caused by a lack of experience in drone warfare and unfamiliarity with the open terrain where they are fighting.

According to Lee, there are signs that the DPRK is preparing to further deploy troops in Russia.

Participation of North Korean military in the war in Ukraine

Ukrainian intelligence reported on October 24 that the first soldiers from the DPRK had already arrived at the front in the Kursk region. There are approximately 12 000 soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals.

According to sources in the American newspaper The New York Times, Russia has assembled a group of 50 000 soldiers for an offensive in the Kursk region. The North Koreans are being trained in artillery strikes, basic infantry tactics and, most importantly, trench clearing, American officials say. This means that at least some of the North Korean soldiers will be used in frontal attacks on Ukrainian positions.

On December 14, Ukraine received confirmation that the Russians had begun using a “significant number” of soldiers from the DPRK in assault operations. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, on December 14-15, units of the DPRK army lost at least 30 soldiers killed and wounded, and three more went missing.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.