As of mid-January 2025, North Korean forces had lost 4,000 personnel in offensive combat operations against the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kursk region. Of these, approximately a quarter were killed in combat.
Points of attention
- The Ukrainian Armed Forces have successfully eliminated over 4,000 North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region, significantly impacting DPRK's support for Russian forces.
- DPRK forces have faced high casualty rates, leading to coordination challenges and command and control issues with Russian forces in the region.
- British intelligence reports highlight substantial combat losses suffered by DPRK forces, impairing their offensive capabilities and integration into the Russian command structure.
- The Pentagon anticipates further escalation in the Kursk region with new North Korean units expected to arrive, despite facing difficulties due to language barriers and combat losses.
- Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief estimates nearly half of the North Korean soldiers sent to the region have been wounded or killed, highlighting the significant impact of DPRK's entry into the war.
Over 4,000 North Korean soldiers eliminated by the AFU in Kursk
This was reported by the UK Ministry of Defense on X (Twitter).
As noted in the summary, the total losses amount to more than a third of the approximately 11,000 North Korean troops deployed in the Kursk region.
According to British intelligence, the high level of DPRK casualties in a short period almost certainly significantly impaired the ability of DPRK forces to conduct offensive combat operations in support of Russia's attempts to dislodge Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region.
Latest Defence intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine — 24 January 2025.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 24, 2025
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/Idzs6a74bB #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/NQftcmX5fM
Despite significant combat losses, the DPRK forces achieved only tactical successes in the Kursk region. Russian and DPRK forces will almost certainly have difficulty interacting. The two forces do not speak a common language, and the DPRK forces will almost certainly have difficulty integrating into the Russian command and control structure.
North Korea is preparing new units for deployment to Kursk
North Korea has sent 11,000 soldiers to help Russia, many of whom have already been killed. The Pentagon expects a new batch to arrive at the front.
This was stated by a high-ranking representative of the US Department of Defense.
According to him, reinforcements are expected "within the next two months."
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said this week that North Korean losses continue to mount, estimating that nearly half of the soldiers sent were either wounded or killed, but he warned that they were "highly motivated, well-trained" and "brave."
North Korea's 1.2 million-strong armed forces are among the world's largest standing armies, and its entry into the war is a major escalation in a war that has been going on for almost three years.
In Russia, North Koreans were given what one Pentagon official called "pocket trash" — documents that registered them as residents of the Russian Far East.
