South Korean intelligence: North Korean soldiers have not been participating in the fighting in Kursk since mid-January

Author:
Oleksandra Opanasenko
Date:

South Korean intelligence has confirmed that soldiers from the DPRK have not been participating in the fighting in Kursk since mid-January 2025.

This is reported by the South Korean agency Yonhap.

The most likely reason for the withdrawal of North Korean troops from the front line is the high level of casualties. However, the exact reason is still being determined.

North Korea is estimated to have sent about 11 000 troops to fight against Ukraine. 300 of them are now believed to be dead and about 2 700 wounded, according to South Korean intelligence.

The American newspaper The New York Times wrote at the end of January that North Korea would send reinforcements to Russia in two months.

Participation of the DPRK military in the war in Ukraine

Ukrainian intelligence reported on October 24, 2024, 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.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 3 000 soldiers from the DPRK have already been killed or wounded. South Korean intelligence believes that 300 soldiers have been killed in the war and about 2 700 have been wounded.

Zelensky first reported on December 27, 2024, that the Defense Forces had captured North Korean soldiers, but then they died of wounds. The North Korean soldiers were captured for the second time in January 2025. Ukraine is ready to exchange them for its own soldiers.

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