North Korea lost more than third of its soldiers deployed in Kursk Oblast of russia – British intelligence

The North Korean army suffered losses of about 4,000 soldiers in combat operations against Ukrainian troops in the Kursk Oblast of the aggressor state of russia, a quarter of whom died in combat. Most likely, the North Korean military is facing difficulties in interoperability with the russians.

It was reported by the UK Ministry of Defense.

"As of mid-January 2025, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) forces had highly likely sustained around 4,000 casualties in offensive combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast, Russia. Of these, approximately a quarter were killed in action," the report said.

It is noted that the total number of casualties is more than a third of the approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers deployed in the Kursk Oblast.

Intelligence indicates that the high level of DPRK losses in a short period of time 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 Kursk.

"Despite significant combat casualties, DPRK troops have only achieved tactical gains in Kursk. Russian and DPRK forces are almost certainly experiencing interoperability difficulties. The two forces do not share a common language and DPRK troops almost certainly have difficulty integrating into Russia’s command-and-control structure," the department emphasized.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, North Korea is reportedly planning to send a new batch of soldiers to the aggressor state of russia by the summer to participate in the russo-Ukrainian war by the summer.

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