North Korean troops experience mass casualties on Ukraine front lines, White House says
On Dec. 17, a US military official said North Korea had suffered several hundred casualties while fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.
By REUTERSUpdated: DECEMBER 28, 2024 00:25Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and North Korean Defence Minister No Kwang Chol watch honour guards marching past during a welcoming ceremony upon Belousov's arrival at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, North Korea, in this still image from video released on November 29, 2024(photo credit: RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
North Korean forces are experiencing mass casualties on the front lines of Russia's war against Ukraine, with a thousand of their troops killed or wounded in the last week alone in the Kursk region of Russia, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday.
The number far exceeds the figure US officials have previously provided.
"It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses," Kirby said, describing the North Korean troops' offensive as "massed, dismounted assaults."
North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Russia's UN mission declined to comment.
Kirby said President Joe Biden would likely approve another security assistance package for Ukraine in coming days. Earlier this week, Biden condemned Russia's Christmas Day attacks on Ukraine's energy system and some of its cities and asked the Defense Department to continue its surge of weapons to Ukraine.
A view shows a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine November 21, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Mykola Synelnykov/File Photo)
North Korean casualties
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, said North Korean forces had sustained "very significant" losses and were being sent into battle with only minimal protection from the Russian forces.
"We see that neither the Russian military nor their North Korean overseers have any interest in ensuring the survival of these North Koreans," he said.
"Everything is set up so that it is impossible for us to capture them. There are instances in which they are executed by their own forces. Russians send them into assaults with minimal protection."
He said Ukrainian forces had managed to take a few North Korean soldiers prisoner "but they were severely wounded and it was not possible to save their lives."
Koreans should not be losing their lives in a war in Europe, he said, and if China was sincere in not wanting the war to expand, "it needs to exert appropriate pressure on Pyongyang."
On Monday, Zelenskiy said more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed and wounded in Kursk region. He said he was citing preliminary data.
On December 17, a US military official said North Korea had suffered several hundred casualties while fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.
Asked about what ranks the North Korean casualties included, the military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it was from lower-level troops to "very near to the top."
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed and wounded in Russia's Kursk region. He said that he was citing preliminary data.
Reuters was unable to independently verify reports of combat losses.
