The Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Friday, Jan. 31, soldiers have not seen North Korean troops on the front lines in Russia’s Kursk region in several weeks. A spokesperson for Ukraine’s military special forces told CNN he believes it is because of all the mass casualties Pyongyang’s soldiers have suffered.
How did we get here?
At the end of last year, around 12,000 North Korean troops were deployed to Russia and Ukraine, with around 4,000 having either been killed or injured since then.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced last week in Davos, Switzerland, that despite Russia’s 60,000 troops and 12,000 North Koreans in Kursk, Ukrainian forces remain in the region, fighting to hold onto Russian land in the hopes of having a better bargaining chip should peace talks start.
Who’s winning in Kursk?
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, also reports that Kyiv recently made some advancements in Kursk. While Russia’s Defense Ministry said Moscow’s forces recaptured a Kursk village on the border of Russia and Ukraine.
What have North Korean troops been doing?
Ukrainian military officials said they believe Pyongyang sent highly trained soldiers. However, Moscow has really only used them to carry out ground assaults and human-wave attacks, making them easy targets for Ukrainian fighters and drone pilots.
What’s the recent history between Russia and North Korea?
So far, neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has publicly mentioned the presence of North Korean soldiers in Ukraine. Although, as Straight Arrow News reported, months before Pyongyang soldiers went to fight in Russia’s war, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a key defense agreement, promising to aid each other in case of attack.
In addition to the troops, Pyongyang has also supplied Moscow with millions of artillery shells, rockets and missiles, according to Western intelligence.
