 "North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, meets soldiers who took part in a training in North Korea, on March 13, 2024. File Image/Reuters via KCNA")
Ukraine’s special operations forces said on Friday that North Korean troops have not been spotted on the battlefield in Russia’s Kursk region for about three weeks, indicating they may have withdrawn after sustaining heavy losses, according to a Reuters report, citing military spokesperson.
Ukrainian and Western intelligence estimates suggest that approximately 11,000 North Korean troops were deployed in Kursk to assist Russian forces, although Russia has not confirmed or denied their presence.
“The special operations forces speak exclusively for the areas where our units are deployed, in this regard, we inform you that the presence of North Korean troops has not been noted for approximately three weeks,” Reuters quoted Colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, the forces’ spokesperson, as saying
“Presumably, having suffered heavy losses, they were forced to withdraw,” he said in a statement.
The Ukrainian military spokesperson for the Kursk front told Reuters he could not provide an official comment on the situation, and it remains unclear where exactly the special operations forces are deployed within the region.
In August, Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into western Kursk to divert Russian forces, boost morale, and gain leverage in negotiations. Although Russia has managed to push Ukrainian troops back, it has not succeeded in driving them entirely to the border.
North Korean regular troops reportedly joined the conflict on Russia’s side in October, as stated by Kyiv and its Western allies, who indicated they were sent to the Kursk region.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsOn January 11, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian special forces, in coordination with paratroopers, had captured two North Korean soldiers on the battlefield.
With inputs from agencies