North Korean Soldiers Use Live Bait Tactics to Down Ukrainian Drones, Soldiers Notes Reveal

The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) revealed that North Korean special forces deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are using live bait tactics to counter Ukrainian drones, according to a press release on December 26.

The discovery was made through a notebook recovered from the belongings of a deceased North Korean soldier, private Gyong Hong Jong, who was killed in action in the Russian Kursk region. The notebook contains detailed instructions and diagrams on how to shoot down drones and avoid Ukrainian artillery strikes.

The recovered notes describe a method in which three soldiers work together to neutralize a drone. The tactic involves:

• A ‘bait’ soldier standing 7 meters away to attract the drone’s attention.

• Two marksmen positioned 10–12 meters away to take aim and shoot it down when the drone hovers in place.

It remains unclear whether this method is an original North Korean strategy or something taught by Russian forces.

The notes also guide how to evade artillery fire. North Korean strategies include splitting into smaller groups and moving to pre-designated rally points to exit the danger zone.

Additionally, units could take cover in craters left by previous artillery strikes, exploiting the fact that artillery rarely hits the same spot twice.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that losses among North Korean troops deployed to support Russian forces in the Kursk region have exceeded 3,000, including both killed and injured.