Media reports that North Korean soldiers have not been seen at the front in the Kursk region for weeks are "incorrect".
This was stated by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov.
He said that 8 000 North Korean fighters are still fighting in Kursk, but in reduced numbers. According to him, their activity has indeed decreased in recent days. Presumably due to heavy losses.
“We need to wait some time to see if there are real changes or if it is just a decrease in activity for a few days,” Budanov explained.
The fact that North Korean troops withdrew from the front lines several weeks ago was reported by various media outlets, including The New York Times and the South Korean Yonhap news agency. The latter stated that the most likely reason for the withdrawal of North Korean troops from the front lines was the high level of casualties.
North Korea sent about 11 000 troops to fight against Ukraine. 300 of them are now believed to be killed and nearly 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 almost 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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