North Korean Troops Withdraw from Kursk Frontlines Amid Heavy Losses
North Korean troops stationed in Russia’s Kursk region have withdrawn from the frontlines for several weeks, likely due to significant casualties, a Ukrainian military official reported on Friday.
“The presence of DPRK troops has not been observed for about three weeks, and they were probably forced to withdraw after suffering heavy losses,” stated Colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, in an interview with CNN.
This development follows reports from Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak that some North Korean units were pulled back after sustaining substantial losses. Intelligence assessments indicate that approximately 12,000 North Korean troops were deployed to Russia, with around 4,000 either killed or injured.
North Korean forces have been present in Kursk since at least November, supporting Russia’s efforts to counter Ukrainian incursions along the southern border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, stated that Ukrainian troops remain active in Kursk despite heavy Russian military presence, which includes an estimated 60,000 Russian soldiers and 12,000 North Koreans.
Reports suggest North Korean troops have employed extreme and desperate tactics on the battlefield. According to CNN, some soldiers detonated grenades rather than be captured, while others left written pledges of loyalty to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at combat sites.
A commander from Ukraine’s 6th Special Operations Forces regiment, speaking anonymously for security reasons, described the North Korean troops as “young, trained, and hardy fighters” but noted they lacked experience against modern warfare technologies such as drones. “They are prepared for the realities of war in 1980 at best,” he said.
Despite demonstrating impressive marksmanship by shooting down drones from a 100-meter distance, the North Korean soldiers have largely been used as expendable foot soldiers in high-casualty ground assaults, reports suggest.
Ukraine has recently gained ground in Kursk, according to a battlefield update from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on January 26. However, earlier this week, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that its forces had recaptured the village of Nikolayevo-Daryino, located along the Russia-Ukraine border.
