North Korean troops killed fighting against Ukraine, Pentagon confirms

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — North Korean troops have entered combat in the Russian region of Kursk and already begun to suffer casualties, the Pentagon confirmed Monday.

“We do assess that North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat in Kursk alongside Russian forces. We do have indications that they have suffered casualties, both killed and wounded,” said Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder in a briefing with reporters.

The Pentagon estimates 12,000 North Korean soldiers have traveled to the region, after the country’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, offered to send reinforcements earlier this fall. Until recently, though, they hadn’t yet entered combat, even as Russia continues to take more than 1,000 casualties per day across the front line, per U.S. figures.

Ryder said the troops entered the fight sometime last week and integrated into Russian formations, adding that their use was so far restricted to Kursk.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency first reported the development earlier Monday, claiming that around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded in fighting against the Ukrainian army at the weekend in Russia’s Kursk border region.

The North Korean casualties occurred around three villages in Kursk, where Russia has for four months been trying to quash a Ukrainian incursion, the agency, known by its acronym GUR, said in a public post on the Telegram messaging app.

At least three North Korean servicemen went missing around another Kursk village, GUR said.

It was not possible to independently verify the Ukrainian claims, which are the first reports of North Korean casualties in the almost 3-year war.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred questions about the claims to the Russian Defense Ministry, which didn’t comment.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged unwavering support for Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor under a mutual defense pact.

Military analysts say the language barrier has bedeviled combat coordination between Russian and North Korean troops.

“The poor integration and ongoing communication problems between Russian and North Korean forces will likely continue to cause friction in Russian military operations in Kursk … in the near term,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said late Sunday.

Ukrainian officials said Nov. 5 their forces had for the first time engaged with North Korean units that had been recently deployed to help Russia.

Ukraine seized land in Russia’s Kursk border region last August in what was the first occupation of Russian territory since World War II. The operation embarrassed the Kremlin and aimed to counter unceasingly glum news from the front line.

The incursion hasn’t significantly changed the war’s dynamics. Over the past year, Russia has been on the front foot with the exception of Kursk and has been grinding deeper into eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region despite heavy losses.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

乌克兰基辅（美联社）——五角大楼周一证实，朝鲜军队已在俄罗斯库尔斯克地区投入战斗，并已开始出现伤亡。

五角大楼发言人帕特·赖德少将在记者会上表示：“我们评估认为，朝鲜士兵在库尔斯克与俄罗斯军队并肩作战。我们也有迹象表明，他们遭受了伤亡，包括阵亡和受伤。”

五角大楼估计，自朝鲜领导人金正恩今年秋季早些时候提出派遣增援部队以来，已有12000名朝鲜士兵前往该地区。然而，直到最近，他们才开始投入战斗，尽管根据美国的数据，俄罗斯在前线每天仍有超过1000人伤亡。

莱德表示，这些部队上周某个时候投入战斗并融入了俄罗斯的部队，并补充说，到目前为止，他们的使用仅限于库尔斯克。

乌克兰军事情报机构周一早些时候率先报道了这一事态发展，声称周末在俄罗斯库尔斯克边境地区与乌克兰军队的战斗中，约有 30 名朝鲜士兵伤亡。

据俄罗斯联邦国防军情报局（简称GUR）在Telegram即时通讯应用上发布的公开消息称，朝鲜方面的伤亡发生在库尔斯克三个村庄附近，俄罗斯四个月来一直在试图平息乌克兰的入侵。

据GUR称，至少有三名朝鲜军人在库尔斯克附近的另一个村庄失踪。

乌克兰方面的说法尚无法独立核实，这是这场持续近3年的战争中首次出现朝鲜人员伤亡的报告。

克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫将有关这些说法的问题转给了俄罗斯国防部，但国防部没有发表评论。

朝鲜领导人金正恩承诺，将根据共同防御条约，坚定支持俄罗斯全面入侵其邻国。

军事分析人士表示，语言障碍一直阻碍着俄罗斯和朝鲜军队之间的作战协调。

华盛顿智库战争研究所周日晚间表示：“俄罗斯和朝鲜军队之间糟糕的融合以及持续存在的沟通问题，可能会在短期内继续导致俄罗斯在库尔斯克的军事行动出现摩擦。”

乌克兰官员11月5日表示，他们的部队首次与最近部署来帮助俄罗斯的朝鲜部队交战。

去年8月，乌克兰占领了俄罗斯库尔斯克边境地区的土地，这是二战以来俄罗斯领土首次遭到占领。此次行动令克里姆林宫难堪，其目的是为了扭转前线不断传来的悲观消息。

这次入侵并未显著改变战争格局。过去一年来，除库尔斯克战役外，俄罗斯一直占据主动，尽管损失惨重，但仍不断向乌克兰东部顿涅茨克地区推进。

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。