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Kursk Front Becomes Deathtrap for North Korean Troops, Over 6,000 Lost

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
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Kursk Front Becomes Deathtrap for North Korean Troops, Over 6,000 Lost
Soldiers salute statues of former North Korean leaders, the country’s founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il, at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang on December 30, 2019. (Source: Getty Images)

North Korea has lost more than 6,000 troops while conducting offensive operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, the UK Ministry of Defence reported on June 15, citing British intelligence.

According to the assessment, the casualties account for more than half of the estimated 11,000 North Korean soldiers initially deployed to the area. Pyongyang has since sent a limited number of reinforcements to Kursk, the report added.

“Significant DPRK casualty rates have almost certainly been sustained primarily through large, highly attritional dismounted assaults,” British intelligence noted.

The disclosure comes amid intensifying scrutiny of North Korea’s growing military role in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

On June 4, Russia’s Security Council Secretary and former defense minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea to meet with its leader, Kim Jong Un—his second trip to the country in under three months.

“Shoigu is almost certainly a key intermediary in negotiations with North Korea regarding its support for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” the intelligence report stated.

“North Korean operations currently remain limited to Russia’s Kursk region. Any decision to deploy North Korean forces into internationally recognized Ukrainian territory would almost certainly require the approval of both Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.”

Earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his country’s support for Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine, during a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang.

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