Nearly a third of the estimated number of North Korean soldiers deployed with Russian forces to fight Ukrainian troops have been killed or injured, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
U.S., Ukrainian and South Korean estimates have put the number of North Korean soldiers sent to Russia somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000, at a time when Russian troop losses have been high. Newsweek has yet to verify these figures.
The soldiers, some of whom are thought to belong to Pyongyang's special forces, were sent by Kremlin ally Kim Jong-un, arrived in the country in October 2024, and were assessed to have entered combat in early December.
What To Know
The North Korean forces have been fighting in Russia's Western Kursk region, where Moscow has been battling Kyiv since Ukrainian troops launched a surprise cross-border offensive into Kursk in August 2024. Kyiv still holds roughly half of the land it captured in the late summer, and Russia is eager to peel back their hold on internationally recognized Russian soil entirely.
The Ukrainian leader told U.S. podcaster Lex Fridman in an episode aired on Sunday that roughly 3,800 North Korean soldiers had been injured or killed in fighting in Kursk so far.
On Saturday evening, Zelensky had said in his nightly address that Moscow "lost up to a battalion of infantry, including North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers," in fighting around one Kursk village across Friday and Saturday, citing Kyiv's army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The size of a battalion can vary, but could be as many as 1,000 soldiers.
White House and Pentagon officials said in late December that North Korean troops in Russia had sustained approximately 1,000 casualties, amounting to a "significant amount" of fighters killed and injured. A total put forward by Zelensky in late December put the number of North Korean casualties at 3,000.
The Ukrainian leader also said last month that Kyiv had captured "several" North Korean soldiers, but they were "seriously wounded and could not be resuscitated."
John Kirby, White House National Security Communications adviser, told reporters on December 27 that the U.S. had heard reported of "North Korean soldiers taking their own lives rather than surrendering to Ukrainian forces, likely out of fear of reprisal against their families in North Korea in the event that they're captured."
Kirby said the U.S. believed North Korean forces were carrying out "massed, dismounted assaults against Ukrainian positions in Kursk," but that the attacks had not been effective against Kyiv.
"It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses," Kirby said.
On Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine had "launched a counterattack" in Kursk, in a village northeast of the border town of Sudzha that Kyiv still controls. An offense around the settlements of Berdin and Bolshoye Soldatskoye was also reported by Russia's influential military bloggers.
Kyiv did not directly reference the reports on Sunday, although Zelensky's chief aide, Andriy Yermak, said Russia was "getting what it deserves" in Kursk, but offered no further details.
Andriy Kovalenko, an official on Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said Russian forces in Kursk had been "attacked from several directions and it came as a surprise to them."
Who Said What
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: "Just look at this example, 12,000 [North Korean soldiers] have arrived. Today 3,800 killed or wounded."
John Kirby, White House National Security Communications Adviser, said on December 27: "It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses. These North Korean soldiers appear to be highly indoctrinated, pushing attacks even when it is clear that those attacks are futile."
What Happens Next
As battles rage on in Kursk, casualty counts among troops from all countries involved are likely to climb, and it remains to be seen how much of a difference North Korean troops can make for Russia's effort to roll back Ukrainian control.
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