North Korean Troops May Suffer Higher Casualties Than Russian Forces, Says Estonian Intelligence

Estonian Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center, stated to the Estonian public broadcaster ERR on November 1 that North Korean troops are likely to face significant losses in Ukraine, potentially surpassing those of Russian forces.

Kiviselg noted that North Korean soldiers are primarily trained for combat in mountainous regions, making them unfamiliar with Ukraine’s terrain, climate, and geography.

"Their training does not include combat operations in such conditions, and the training they receive in the Russian Federation is certainly not of a very high level," Kiviselg said.

"Therefore, we can expect North Korean units to suffer heavy losses in Ukraine, and probably even more than the Russian Federation's forces have suffered so far."

According to Kiviselg, North Korean troops arrived in Kursk region in early October after completing two to four weeks of training. He added that following this training period, the troops were redeployed to the "Ukrainian front."

"The arrival of North Korean soldiers on the Ukrainian front will likely take place in stages," Kiviselg said.

"If this additional deployment of (North Korean) units in Russia, their training, and then arrival on the Ukrainian front continues in the long term, it could certainly bring some changes to the front line."

Previously, Financial Times reported, citing Ukrainian intelligence sources, that around 3,000 North Korean soldiers were recently moved to Russia’s Kursk region and stationed in barracks about 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border as of October 28.