Ukrainian intelligence does not rule out that the Russians will use North Korean military personnel in their attacks on the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
This opinion was expressed by the spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Chernyak in an interview with the Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
According to him, North Koreaʼs losses are currently around 5 000, but another 6 000 soldiers are still in Kursk and can continue to fight.
Chernyak says that after unsuccessful assaults they changed tactics and now move in groups of 1-2 fighters. The GUR spokesman emphasizes that now we can also talk about more successful training of the military from the DPRK — they have mastered the tactics of using unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare. And now they are also fully mastering the weapons and tactics that Russia uses on the battlefield against Ukraine.
GUR also stated that the language barrier between North Koreans and Russians does not cause any obstacles. Chernyak believes that the military from the DPRK fulfill their duties in assault units without even communicating with Russian soldiers.
He said that North Korean soldiers are given instructions to "reach this or that border", after which they move forward. According to him, after completing the task, they are fixed in place without constant communication with the Russian side.
Chernyak concluded that the North Korean troops in Kursk will bring modern warfare tactics home and teach them to other soldiers in their country. He said North Korea is a threat to Ukraine and the Asia-Pacific region.
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. Ukraine is ready to exchange them for its own soldiers.
In March, it became known that in January and February, North Korea sent at least 3 000 additional soldiers to Russia for the war against Ukraine.
- Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky stated on April 9 that a new Russian offensive in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions had already effectively begun. Over the previous week, the Russians had almost doubled their offensives on all main front lines.
- On the evening of March 19, at a briefing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia plans to completely displace Ukrainian troops from the Kursk direction, and then strike in the direction of Sumy and move troops to Kharkiv, as well as to Zaporizhzhia.
- Already on March 27, Zelensky said that Russia was preparing for a spring offensive on the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. It was supposed to take place a few months ago, but Ukraine thwarted it thanks to the Kursk operation.
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