Putin Isn't Bluffing: North Korean Soldiers Have Gone to War in Ukraine

Ukrainian forces have encountered North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast, marking a significant development as Pyongyang sends thousands of soldiers to support Moscow. While initial clashes are reportedly mild, Ukrainian officials expect more intense engagements as North Korean forces integrate with Russian troops.

What You Need to Know: Ukrainian forces have encountered North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast, marking a significant development as Pyongyang sends thousands of soldiers to support Moscow. While initial clashes are reportedly mild, Ukrainian officials expect more intense engagements as North Korean forces integrate with Russian troops.

-Currently, around 11,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to be in Russian service, primarily intended to help repel Ukrainian advances without entering occupied Ukraine to avoid further international backlash.

-Meanwhile, Russian forces are experiencing heavy losses in equipment and personnel as the conflict intensifies.

North Korean troops are engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces inside Russia

The Ukrainian defense minister revealed that Ukrainian forces have already gone up against small numbers of North Korean troops in the Kursk Oblast.  

Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Moscow’s aid as the intense fighting continues to deplete the Russian forces.  

Ukrainians v. North Koreans in Russia  

“The first North Korean forces have likely officially engaged in combat against Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast,” the Institute for the Study of War assessed in its latest estimate of the war.  

On Tuesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that the Ukrainian military has been engaged in small-scale combat with North Korean troops in the Kursk Oblast. Speaking to a South Korean news outlet, Umerov said that the fighting with the North Korean troops is relatively mild for the time being but that he expects that to change once the full contingents of North Korean forces arrive. Ukrainian, South Korean, and Western intelligence estimates put the number of North Korean forces in Russian service to around 11,000.  

As we have assessed here at The National Interest, it is likely that the Kremlin will initially limit the presence of North Korean troops to within Russia. The Ukrainian salient in the Kursk Oblast is an ideal testing bed for the North Koreans because it wouldn’t require them to deploy into occupied Ukraine and risk further wrath from the West and South Korea.  

To be sure, if Moscow perceives a need, it will most certainly deploy the North Koreans into occupied Ukraine as well. There is already reporting that some North Korean support troops are inside Ukraine. But the fact that they are not involved in direct fighting and their small numbers are enough for their presence to pass without much attention for the time being.  

“ISW continues to assess that Russia will likely leverage North Korean manpower to first and foremost repel the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast, and that in return, North Korean troops hope to gain combat and military-technical experience in the conditions for a contemporary and technologically driven war,” the Institute for the Study of War added.  

Interestingly, it seems that the Russian military is integrating the North Korean troops into its own structure as opposed to having them fight as separate units. The Ukrainian defense minister said in his interview with the South Korean outlet that it has been difficult to ascertain North Korean casualty numbers because the Russian military has mixed Russian and North Korean troops together in the same outfits.  

Russian Casualties in Ukraine

Meanwhile, the Russian forces continue to take heavy casualties in the fighting. Over the past twenty-four hours, the Russian military, paramilitary outfits, and pro-Russian separatist forces lost approximately 1,250 troops killed or wounded, as well as fifty-seven unmanned aerial systems, fifty-five tactical vehicles and fuel trucks, twenty artillery pieces and multiple launch rocket systems, eleven infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, six main battle tanks, and one piece of special equipment damaged or destroyed.  

About the Author: 

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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