North Korea’s Troops Toughen Russia’s Offensive Against Ukraine (Worthy News In-Depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Once dismissed as “cannon fodder,” North Korean soldiers deployed in the Russian offensive against Ukraine are now being described by their Ukrainian adversaries as disciplined and formidable fighters.
“They have been blowing themselves up when they see capture is in sight,” Lieutenant Colonel Yaroslav Chepurnyi, a spokesman of the Ukrainian army, said in published remarks.
“They are young, motivated, physically fit, brave, and good at using small arms. They are also disciplined. They have everything you need for a good infantryman,” Chepurnyi commented to the Politico news outlet.
Yuriy Bondar, a Ukrainian soldier with the 80th separate airborne assault brigade, said North Korean soldiers have excellent physical training and stable morale.
Bondar also confirmed that the North Koreans possess an extremely high level of mastery of small arms, successfully shooting down “a surprising number” of Ukrainian drones.
“They demonstrate psychological resilience. Imagine, one runs and attracts attention, and the other, from an ambush, shoots down a drone with aimed fire,” Bondar said, claiming that underestimating the enemy will always lead to a defeat.
“As one commander said: ‘Compared to the soldiers of the [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] DPRK [as North Korea is officially known], Russia’s “Wagner mercenaries circa 2022 are just children. And I believe him,” Bondar stressed.
INTENSE BATTLES
He spoke while intense battles were being waged over every square meter of territory in Russia’s Kursk region. Five months ago, Ukraine launched a surprise offensive there, marking the first foreign incursion into Russia since World War II. Since then, the area has become a focal point of relentless conflict.
For Ukraine, holding onto the gains in Kursk is critical, especially when Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th U.S. president on January 20, with peace talks expected soon after.
For Russia, reclaiming the territory has become a symbolic priority in a war that has already killed and injured some 1 million soldiers on both sides, according to numerous military sources. To strengthen their efforts, Moscow has deployed at least 12,000 North Korean troops to the front lines.
Since then, Kyiv has reportedly lost about half of the 1,250 square kilometers (483 square miles) it captured.
However, it came at a substantial human cost: Around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 wounded so far in the fight against Ukraine, the South Korean government in Seoul said this week. Analysts cautioned these numbers are difficult to verify, as neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have directly confirmed North Korean troops’ participation in the war
“The Russians are determined to retake this territory at any cost, throwing everything they have into the fight. We are equally committed to holding our ground,” said Ukrainian Sergeant Oleksandr, a leader of a Ukrainian infantry platoon. “We destroy and destroy—so much that it’s hard to comprehend.”
The carnage in Kursk has been described by Oleksandr, 46, as the most horrifying he has seen since joining the military in 2014. “You witness it daily—countless lives lost—and you can barely process where you are.”
ENDLESS KILLING
The sergeant compared the horrors of Kursk to Bakhmut, where Ukrainian machine gunners frequently had to be rotated out because they couldn’t endure the psychological toll of endless killing. “After hours of shooting, some soldiers simply couldn’t continue mentally. Now, we’re facing the same grim reality here.”
The arrival of North Korean soldiers has added new challenges for Ukrainian forces. “The situation worsened significantly when the North Koreans started arriving,” said Junior Sergeant Oleksii, 30, a platoon leader. “They are pressuring our fronts en masse, finding weak points and breaking through them,” he told The New York Times newspaper.
“Here, the Russians need to take this territory at any cost and are pouring all their strength into it while we are giving everything we have to hold it,” said Sergeant Oleksandr. “We’re holding on, destroying, destroying, destroying — so much that it’s hard to even comprehend.”
He and other soldiers, asking to be identified by only a first name or call sign in accordance with military protocol, said that attacking North Korean infantry had made the battles far more ferocious than before.
North Korean soldiers have also displayed an unusual determination, according to Ukrainian troops, noted Bondar, the Ukrainian soldier with the 80th separate airborne assault brigade.
“The enemy does not surrender. They eliminate themselves according to the same scheme, a grenade near the head, and go.
Those who remain on the battlefield are doused with flammable liquid and burned,” he claimed in comments on social media monitored by Worthy News.
MOUNTING COUNTEROFFENSIVE
Ukrainian forces say they are mounting a counteroffensive despite the physical and psychological pressure. In recent days, they have reportedly regained ground west of Sudzha, a key town serving as a stronghold for Ukrainian troops in the region.
“If they pressure us without retaliation, it boosts their confidence,” stressed Ukrainian intelligence officer Andrii. “An unchallenged attacker feels psychologically superior, even invincible.”
Amid the bloodshed, Ukrainian forces captured two injured North Korean soldiers alive last week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered to return them to North Korea, provided Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un secures the release of Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia.
“Suppose Kim Jong Un remembers these citizens of his and is capable of organizing an exchange for our warriors being held in Russia,” he added. “In that case, we are ready to transfer such soldiers. Undoubtedly, there will be more [prisoners of war] POWs from North Korea.”
However, Andrew Clapham, a professor of international law in Geneva, warns of legal and ethical challenges. “There is a real risk these soldiers could face human rights abuses upon their return,” he said in published remarks.
With Kursk at the epicenter of Europe’s worst conflict in decades, Ukraine’s efforts to hold the line face mounting challenges. Yet, the resolve on both sides remains unyielding for now.
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