North Korean Troops Are Bleeding Out in Kursk
Pyongyang has already lost more than one-third of its troops in the fighting in Russia.
North Korean troops fighting for Russian President Vladimir Putin are taking heavy casualties. In just a few weeks of fighting, the North Korean contingent in Russia has lost almost 40 percent of its combat fighting capability.
North Korean Losses in Russia
A few months ago, the South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence services revealed that North Korea had sent approximately 11,000 troops to fight on behalf of Russia.
“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,” the British Military Intelligence assessed in its latest estimate of the conflict.
Approximately 1,000 of these casualties have been killed in action, with the rest wounded.
“The total casualties amount to more than a third of the approximately 11,000 DRPK combat troops deployed to the Kursk region. The high rate of DPRK losses in a short time period has almost certainly significantly deteriorated DPRK force’s capacity to conduct offensive combat operations in support of Russia’s attempts to push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk,” the British Military Intelligence added.
The North Korean troops have been fighting alongside the Russian forces. But language barriers and tactical differences mean that the cooperation between the two forces isn’t as smooth as Moscow and Pyongyang would like.
“Despite significant combat casualties, DPRK troops have only achieved tactical gains in Kursk,” the British Military Intelligence stated.
Russia’s Strategy of Attrition Is Working…
The Russian forces are pursuing an attritional strategy with a focus on small tactical gains that add up.
“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 difficulties integrating into Russia’s command-and-control structure,” the British Military Intelligence concluded.
In early August, the Ukrainian military surprised Russia, and the world, by launching a surprise foray into the Kursk Oblast, Russia. In just a few days, the Ukrainian forces captured hundreds of square kilometers of Russian territory and scores of settlements.
The Ukrainian military leadership took a gamble by invading Russia. It clearly understood that it could not push to Moscow and force the surrender of the Russian forces. However, it sought to distract the Russian military leadership and force it to commit forces from the fighting in Ukraine to the defense of Kursk. Although that strategy was somewhat successful in the beginning, the Russian military is now pushing both along the contact line in Ukraine and in the Kursk Oblast.
… At a High Cost
Meanwhile, the Russian forces continue to take heavy losses, too.
Over the past 24 hours, the Russian military, paramilitary units, and pro-Russian separatist forces lost approximately 1,500 troops killed or wounded, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense. In addition, the Russian forces lost around 87 tactical vehicles and fuel trucks, 51 unmanned aerial systems, 40 artillery pieces and multiple launch rocket systems, 11 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, 2 main battle tanks, and 1 piece of special equipment.
Overall, the Russian forces have suffered approximately 826,000 casualties, according to Ukrainian MOD data.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
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