Zelenskyy claims N. Korean troops lost heavy casualties in Kursk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian and North Korean forces suffered heavy losses of hundreds fighting in Russia’s southern Kursk region in just two days.

“In a battle today and yesterday (Jan. 3 and 4) near Martnynovka, Kursk, the Russian army, consisting of North Korean infantry and Russian parachute troops, lost up to one battalion,” said President Zelenskyy. He did not, however, explain the details of the casualties. Reuters reported that one battalion generally refers to hundreds of soldiers.

Reportedly, around 11,000 North Korean troops have been dispatched to Russia since October of last year and deployed in the Kursk region. According to reports, a large number of casualties have occurred due to the North Korean military's use of outdated equipment, such as broken grenades, and lack of experience in modern warfare, such as drone attacks. “Most of the rifles used by North Korean soldiers are outdated, such as Kalashnikov rifles (AK-27), and they use knives like small daggers,” said Operations Sergeant Mikhail Makaruk of Ukraine's 8th Special Operations Regiment in an interview with the U.S. Radio Free Asia (RFA) on December 27 last year. President Zelensky also claimed that North Korean military casualties exceeded 3,000 as of Dec. 23 last year.


Eun-A Cho achim@donga.com