North Korean Troops Retreat From Kursk Front Line After Heavy Losses: NYT

Anonymous Ukrainian and US officials have told The NY Times that North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia have been pulled from the front lines in Kursk region, where Ukraine has waged a cross-border ground offensive since last August, after suffering heavy losses.

It was widely reported that some 11,000 North Koreans were sent by Kim John Un to assist the Russian army. So far, reports suggest the foreign troops have only been deployed in southern Russian territory which is partially occupied by Ukraine forces.

„Ukrainian troops who have fought against the North Koreans have described them as fierce warriors. But disorganization in their ranks and a lack of cohesion with Russian units have quickly driven up casualties, a Ukrainian official said,” the officials claimed to the Times.

North Korean state media

„Since arriving on the battlefield, the North Korean soldiers have been left to fend for themselves, advancing with few armored vehicles and rarely pausing to regroup or fall back, according to Ukrainian officials and frontline troops,” the report says.

None of this can be independently verified, and in the past Western and Ukrainian officials have used such anonymous quotes to the Times to advance wartime propaganda; however, there have been some indicators of disorganization and lack of communication and experience among the North Korean and Russian troops as they struggle to coordinate on the battlefield.

Pyongyang also chiefly sent foot soldiers in, and not entire support units for example with armor or heavier weapons. This does indeed make these DPRK forces more vulnerable and entirely reliant on their Russian allies. This also leaves them more exposed to land mines and small drone attack.

But North Korea has indicated it’s sent its „best-trained special operations troops” to help Putin’s forces, and additional reinforcements are expected „within the next two months,” the NYT reported last week.

The Times further frames the NK troops being pulled back in the following context:

The longer Ukrainians troops hold Kursk, the more embarrassing it becomes for Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin. Though Mr. Putin has vowed to expel the Ukrainian forces, he has been hesitant to divert troops from the main Russian operations in eastern Ukraine, in part to similarly strengthen his hand in future negotiations.

…Many of the soldiers are among North Korea’s best-trained special operations troops, but the Russians appear to have used them as foot soldiers, sending them forth in waves across fields studded with land mines to be mowed down by heavy Ukrainian fire.

It should be added that morale among these foreign forces must be low if they generally come to be perceived as 'expendable’. This is a narrative Kiev has advanced, at least.

The Kursk salient is now approximately a third of the size of what it was compared to its maximum extent. ~410km² vs a little over 1200km². pic.twitter.com/lbwDbS26KI

— AMK Mapping (@AMK_Mapping_) January 29, 2025

„The American officials said the decision to pull the North Korean troops off the front line may not be a permanent one,” NYT continues. „It is possible, they said, that the North Koreans could return after receiving additional training or after the Russians come up with new ways of deploying them to avoid such heavy casualties.”

But again, none of this can be verified at all – and it’s possible the opposite might be true… that they are fighting well and effectively. Moon of Alabama has posited the following….

I do not believe that any politician or military in the west will believe that nonsense which is again solely sourced to Ukrainian military intelligence claims. But there is clear campaign by the Ukrainian government to make the issue stick. What is its hope? To induce South Korea to send its forces to fight North Koreans on the Ukrainian border with Russia?