at least 30 North Korean soldiers reportedly injured or killed in Russia’s Kursk region

The Ukrainian military intelligence services (GUR) affirmed on Monday December 16 that“at least 30 soldiers” North Koreans, fighting alongside the Russian army, were injured or killed Saturday and Sunday in the Russian region of Kursk, partially occupied by kyiv forces. “At least 30 soldiers were killed or injured” over the weekend, the Ukrainian GUR said on Telegram, referring to “significant losses”.

According to this source, these North Koreans were engaged in fighting near the villages of Plekhovo, Vorojba and Martynovka in the Russian region of Kursk, partially occupied since August by Ukrainian forces. Several thousand North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia in recent weeks to support the Russian army, according to Westerners.

For its part, the Kremlin has each time evaded questions on the subject, not wanting to confirm this information. Pyongyang has neither confirmed nor denied this unprecedented deployment. Russia and North Korea have signed a mutual defense agreement in recent months – which came into force at the beginning of December, according to Russian diplomacy -, which provides in article 4 “immediate military aid” in the event of armed aggression from third countries.

“Another step”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that North Korean troops fighting for Russia were leading “assaults” in the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine still occupies several hundred square kilometers. He then also accused Moscow of having crossed into war “another step”.

Ukraine has warned that Russia has amassed some 50,000 troops, including several thousand North Korean troops, to regain full control of its Kursk region. At the end of November, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin estimated that some 10,000 members of the North Korean army were in Russia’s Kursk region.

At the beginning of November, Zelensky assured him that “some” North Korean soldiers had already taken part in hostilities and suffered losses in the Kursk region. South Korean government officials and a research organization said last month that Moscow was providing fuel, anti-aircraft missiles and economic aid to Pyongyang in exchange for the troops.