North Korean forces are being slaughtered fighting for Russia, harming combat operations, intel says

• North Korean forces are suffering very high losses fighting for Russia against Ukraine.

• About 4,000 soldiers have been killed or wounded, Western intelligence says.

• The high toll is hurting Pyongyang’s combat operations.

North Korean forces fighting for Russia are suffering high losses, and it’s hurting their combat operations, a new Western intelligence assessment says.

In the fall, about 11,000 North Korean troops deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces had launched a daring invasion several months earlier. Within weeks of their arrival, officials said Pyongyang’s forces were already experiencing significant losses.

Britain’s defense ministry said on Friday that as of mid-January, about 1,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed and about 3,000 more wounded in combat against Ukraine. That’s more than a third of the number of troops deployed to Kursk.

The defense ministry said in a new intelligence update that the high rate of North Korean losses in a short period of time “has almost certainly significantly deteriorated DPRK forces’ capacity to conduct offensive combat operations in support of Russia’s attempts to push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk,” referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

A Pentagon spokesperson said earlier this month that North Korea’s losses included a range of ranks, including some senior officers.

Conflict analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank, which has closely monitored the war, said last week that North Korea would lose all of the troops it sent to Kursk in a matter of months if the combat loss rate continued.

Despite the heavy losses fighting for Russia, North Korean troops “have only achieved tactical gains in Kursk,” the UK said. “Russia and DPRK forces are almost certainly experiencing interoperability difficulties. The two forces do not share a common language and DPRK troops almost certainly have difficulties integrating into Russia’s command-and-control structure.”

North Korean forces hadn’t experienced major combat operations before they deployed to Russia, which trained them in infantry tactics, flying drones, artillery, and trench-clearing operations. The White House said in December that Pyongyang’s troops were being used in “human wave” assaults that were largely ineffective.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the former Pentagon spokesperson, said the US assessed the North Korean forces were well-disciplined, competent, and capable soldiers. Ukrainian soldiers have also described them as highly skilled in combat amid claims that they were treated as expendable.

Ryder told reporters last week that “what we’re seeing on the battlefield is that they obviously do present a threat,” He said the Ukrainians were doing a good job holding their defensive lines but called the fighting “very tough.”

Ukraine said earlier this month that it had captured two wounded North Korean soldiers in Kursk. One of them thought he was being sent to Russia for training purposes, not to actually fight in a war, Kyiv said.

North Korea and Russia have significantly strengthened their defense ties during the Ukraine war. Over the summer, the two countries signed a pact pledging military assistance if one is attacked. Pyongyang has also provided Moscow with weapons such as missiles and artillery shells in addition to the soldiers.

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