North Korean troops have been killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in the Kursk border region, according to the United States. These casualties mark the first reported deaths since it was revealed in October that North Korea had deployed approximately 10,000 troops to support Russia’s military efforts in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, reported that at least 30 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded over the weekend in ongoing fighting. The BBC has not independently verified these claims.
The North Korean troops, who are believed to have no prior combat experience, reportedly spent their first weeks in Russia undergoing training and performing support roles. On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Russian forces had started using a “significant number” of North Korean soldiers in their assaults in Kursk, a region that Ukraine has partially occupied since launching a surprise incursion in August.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder stated that the U.S. believes North Korean soldiers have “engaged in combat in Kursk alongside Russian forces” and have “suffered casualties, both killed and wounded.” While Ryder did not specify the number of casualties, he confirmed that North Korean troops had been involved in combat for “a little over a week.” He also indicated that the North Koreans appeared to be serving in infantry roles, and their involvement was believed to be limited to the Kursk region, not Ukraine itself.
Russian forces, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, have been making advances in eastern Ukraine in recent months. The GUR reported that the North Korean casualties occurred on Saturday and Sunday in the Kursk villages of Plekhovo, Vorobzha, and Martynovka.
On Monday, President Zelensky shared drone footage on Telegram showing several men taking cover behind trees, identifying them as North Korean troops who had recently participated in an assault on a Ukrainian position. Zelensky also posted additional footage, claiming that Russian forces were attempting to conceal the presence of North Koreans on the battlefield by using a campfire to burn the faces of deceased soldiers.
“Ukraine’s Defense Forces and intelligence are working to determine the full extent of the actual losses suffered by Russian units that include North Koreans,” Zelensky said, adding that there was “not a single reason for North Koreans to die in this war.”
The Kremlin has referred inquiries regarding the deaths of North Korean soldiers to the Russian Ministry of Defence, which has yet to make a statement.
In the wake of the reports of North Korean casualties, the European Union, as well as several countries including the UK, US, Australia, and South Korea, have condemned Pyongyang’s involvement in the conflict, calling it a “dangerous expansion… with serious consequences for European and Indo-Pacific security.”
Earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on nine individuals and seven entities over their financial and military support for North Korea.
