North Korean forces turn tide in Kursk, pose strong challenge
Oleg Sziriew, commander of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment of the Ukrainian Army, highlighted the North Koreans' approach to the clashes in the Kursk region. In his assessment, the reinforcements sent by Pyongyang fight more fiercely than the Russians on their soil.
According to the Ukrainian commander, North Korean soldiers never surrender, and there hasn't been a single case of their capture. He noted that while a few wounded soldiers were recovered from the battlefield, they likely succumbed to their injuries shortly after, as reported in an interview with ABC News.
Ukrainian commander on clashes with Koreans
Sziriew believes that the soldiers from North Korea, after their initial losses and being unprepared for the realities of the ongoing war, quickly became a leading element of Russian attacks. He emphasises that the North Koreans show great determination in the clashes and are even better prepared for them than the Russians. At times, they are even capable of fighting drones with handheld weapons (perhaps, for instance, a Vepr-12 semi-automatic shotgun found on the bodies of the fallen), and a heroic death on the battlefield is seen as a point of pride.
The Ukrainian commander explained that North Korean soldiers are rapidly deployed in assaults, with Russian forces then reinforcing the positions secured by the Koreans. He described them as exceptionally fit and well-prepared, skilled in marksmanship, and unafraid to confront drones directly, even shooting them down with their weapons. He also noted that they never abandon their wounded, continuously making efforts to evacuate them from the battlefield.
The biggest problem for the Koreans is drones
Estimates from Western intelligence and Ukrainians suggest that approximately 11,000 to 12,000 soldiers from North Korea have so far been deployed to the Kursk region. About 5,000 of them have been eliminated from combat (this includes the killed and wounded), but Pyongyang will likely send additional reinforcements in their place.
From the interrogation of two prisoners, whose partial results have been made public, it emerged that Kim Jong Un's army was decimated primarily during its initial presence in the Kursk region. This was mainly due to Ukrainian drones, against which they were unprepared.
The units sent by Kyiv mainly operate with small FVP (first-person view) drones in Russia. These are constructions with a camera providing real-time viewing, usually commercial devices modified by adding several pounds of explosive detonated upon hitting the target. Both Ukrainians and Russians are increasingly turning to fibre-optic drones. These constructions, where transmission is carried out via fibre-optic, guarantee pilots better visibility (higher quality of transmitted image), and most importantly, are not susceptible to electronic warfare systems.
