WSJ speaks about first battles of AFU with North Koreans

Soldiers of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment and the 8th Separate Special Forces Regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces took on the first battles with North Korean soldiers in the Kursk Oblast of the russian federation.

This is stated in the material of the American publication The Wall Street Journal.

The commander of the 225th Special Forces Regiment, Oleh Shyriaiev, described the first meeting with North Korean soldiers on the battlefield as follows: “They kept advancing, advancing, advancing forward.”

In their first battles, the North Koreans ran in large groups, without radio communication, without the support of russian UAVs and artillery, that is, as in the Second World War, which was an easy target for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Shyriaiev said that later the soldiers of the 225th Special Forces Regiment defended a village in Kursk, which was located along one of the vital logistical routes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the russian federation.

Having destroyed the bridges to cut off the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the North Korean infantry moved against the Ukrainian troops, but under the cover of artillery fire and cruise missiles, fully integrating into the russian army. According to Shyriaiev, the Koreans used russian tactics, moving in small groups of three to five people.

The WSJ notes that in addition to the 225th Special Forces Regiment, fighters from the 8th Separate Special Forces Regiment took part in the early battles with the North Korean troops, which took place in mid-December of last year.

“The nine-person team, tasked with helping defend positions and obtaining proof of the presence of North Korean troops, joined a skirmish alongside other Ukrainian soldiers that was so intense it lighted up the night sky like a laser show,” a soldier from the 8th Separate Special Forces Regiment, known as Bulat, who took part in the battle, told the WSJ.

According to the Special Operations Forces, 21 North Koreans were killed in the battle, 40 were wounded, and three were captured (one of them died during the evacuation). All nine Ukrainian special forces servicemen got out.

In total, the North Koreans suffered losses of about 5,000 people.

"Why are the Koreans storming? They are better prepared psychologically and they are better prepared physically... They pay with blood," said Shyriaiev, adding that by ignoring the value of human life, the North Koreans have surpassed even the russians, paying a huge price, knowingly going to their deaths.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in January and February, North Korea likely sent another 3,000 soldiers to russia to take part in the war in Ukraine.