Putin's problems with Kim's soldiers Three North Koreans are said to have killed Russians

Philipp Dahm

24.1.2025

The North Korean troops in Kursk are apparently suffering heavy losses, but only two soldiers have been captured: Find out how this happened and why three North Koreans are being sought here.

No time? blue News summarizes for you

  • Kiev reports that 4,000 of the 11,000 to 12,000 North Korean soldiers in Kursk have been injured or killed.
  • Only two North Koreans were captured on January 9: Now there are new details about their capture.
  • One of the two was allegedly carrying a sausage that he did not want to give up.
  • "Armed and dangerous": Three North Koreans are wanted for the murder of five Russian soldiers.
  • North Korea is allegedly sending more equipment.

Information about the North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine is sparse. However, the losses they are suffering are said to be high: The BBC last reported 1000 killed and 3000 wounded by mid-January.

Assuming that 11,000 to 12,000 North Koreans have been deployed to Russia, this casualty rate is untenable. The Institute for the Study of War estimates that 92 soldiers a day have been injured or killed since the start of the North Korean operation in early December. If this continues, the contingent will be exhausted by mid-April.

How do the high losses come about? The North Koreans have so far been deployed exclusively in Kursk, where the Russian army has been persistently throwing wave after wave against the Ukrainian troops that had crossed the border into Russia.

The Asian allies are being sent against the defenders without artillery support or gunnery assistance from mechanized units, who are fighting back with kamikaze drones and night-vision devices, among other things. In addition, most North Koreans would rather kill themselves than be captured.

North Koreans hold on to their sausage

Kiev has only been able to arrest two North Korean soldiers so far: On January 9, the duo was detained after a failed infantry attack. They were spotted by a drone pilot and captured by soldiers from the 95th Air Assault Brigade. As the two did not understand Ukrainian, Russian or English, they had to communicate using gestures.

Current situation map Kursk.
Current situation map Kursk.
ISW

"He had a grenade and a knife on his protective vest and he indicated that he was dropping them," Ukrainian Pavlo recalls the scene. "There was something red in his pockets, which we initially thought was a homemade lighter. But when he took it out, it was a sausage - he hinted that it was for eating. And he wouldn't give it up. We let him have it."

This was the North Korean who had broken his jaw. He tried to harm himself after the arrest, the Ukrainians continue: when a vehicle came to pick him up, the Asian man ran his head into a concrete pillar and lost consciousness.

After the prisoner received medical treatment and was fed, he calmed down - and allegedly asked for Korean love films. The information about the North Koreans cannot be verified.

North Koreans wanted by wanted poster

There are apparently further problems between the allies, reports "Radio Free Asia": according to the report, three North Koreans are being sought who are said to have killed five Russians.

The incident took place on January 13 near the village of Bolshoye Soldatskoye in Kursk: The victims were members of 810th Guards Marine Brigade from Sevastopol. "The criminals are armed and dangerous," reads the wanted poster.

Three North Korean soldiers are apparently being sought with this poster.
Three North Korean soldiers are apparently being sought with this poster.
Via RFA

Meanwhile, the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service claims to have learned that reinforcements from North Korea are on their way. However, this is mainly about material, Kyrylo Budanov told "The War Zone":"We are not expecting many new combat troops."

The lieutenant general expects Pyongyang to deliver more 170-millimetre and 240-millimetre howitzers. "They have a lot of these systems," Budanov knows. "They will cause more problems at the front."