War in Ukraine: 1,100 North Korean losses, Pyongyang ready to send more weapons and troops… an update on the situation

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Monday, December 23, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

More than 3,000 North Korean troops killed or wounded in Kursk region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that more than 3,000 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded in Russia's Kursk region, adding that Pyongyang could provide more military personnel and equipment to the Russian army. “There are risks that North Korea will provide additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army,”, Zelensky said on X, citing a report from the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky.

“We will provide tangible answers to this“, he added. The Ukrainian president's North Korean death toll is higher than that given by Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), which speaks of 1,100 wounded or killed soldiers. Russia has never confirmed the presence of North Korean soldiers with its army. North Korea initially refuted the allegations, calling them “fake news”, before a leader said that such a deployment would be legal.

According to South Korean, US and Ukrainian authorities, some 12,000 North Korean troops are now deployed in Russia. According to the JCS, North Korea has already supplied Russia with 240 mm multiple rocket launchers and 170 mm self-propelled howitzers. Pyongyang is also set to produce more suicide drones for Russia.

South Korea puts North Korean casualties against Ukrainians at 1,100

More than 1,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.

“We estimate that North Korean troops, who recently went into combat with Ukrainian forces, have suffered about 1,100 casualties,”, the JCS said in a communiqué.

The South Korean general staff has also observed preparations that lead it to believe that North Korea is preparing to send new troops to Russia, as reinforcements or to relieve those already fighting.

Intelligence gathered by South Korea indicates that the North “is producing and delivering self-destructing drones” to Russia, which it is also supplying “240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled guns”, the JCS said.

The South Korean military believes that North Korea is seeking to modernize its conventional warfare capabilities with Russian assistance, based on its combat experience against Ukrainian forces.

“This could lead to an increase in the North's military threat to us”, estimates the JCS. Several thousand North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia in recent weeks to support the Russian army, according to Western sources. For its part, the Kremlin has always evaded questions on the subject, refusing to confirm this information.

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On December 17, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky, had declared that the Russian army was conducting “intense offensive operations in the Kursk region, actively using units of the North Korean army”, adding that the latter had already “suffered heavy losses”.

Ukraine launched a surprise offensive in the Russian region of Kursk in early August. It still controls a small part of this territory.

North Korea has never confirmed or denied the presence of its troops alongside Russia. The two countries have strengthened their military ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A landmark mutual defense treaty between Pyongyang and Moscow, signed in June, came into force earlier this month. It provides for “immediate military assistance” in the event of armed aggression by a third country.

Pyongyang ready to send more weapons, troops to Russia, South Korean military says

The South Korean military said Monday it had detected signs that North Korea is preparing to send more troops and weapons, including suicide drones, to support Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. According to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), North Korea has already supplied Russia with 240 mm multiple rocket launchers and 170 mm self-propelled howitzers.

Pyongyang is also on track to produce more suicide drones for Russia since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a test of the drones last month, the JCS added. “Suicide drones are one of the tasks that Kim Jong-un has focused on,”, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said.

The drones have been widely used in the war in Ukraine, and Kim Jong-un has ordered mass production of the weapons and an update of the country's military doctrine in light of intensifying global competition, state media reported.

According to South Korean, U.S. and Ukrainian officials, some 12,000 North Korean troops are now deployed in Russia. The JCS said at least 1,100 of them had been killed or wounded, a figure that corroborates a report released last week by South Korea’s intelligence agency that put the number of dead at around 100 and wounded at around 1,000 in Russia’s Kursk region.

The strengthening of military ties between North Korea and Russia could allow Pyongyang to modernize its conventional forces and gain combat experience, creating a new threat to South Korea, the JCS official said. Along the heavily fortified Korean border, North Korea has installed fences and barbed wire in recent weeks and deployed up to 10,000 troops to change the situation in the area, the JCS said. The JCS released photos showing a group of North Korean soldiers testing the electrified wire fence using a goat.

There is also a possibility that Pyongyang could test an intermediate-range hypersonic missile later this year, before US President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, the JCS added. “With Russia's support, North Korea will likely attempt to stage various strategic provocations next year, such as launching intercontinental ballistic missiles and conducting a nuclear test, to strengthen its bargaining power with the United States,”, the JCS official said.