Pentagon expects increase in North Korean soldier casualties in Russia-Ukraine war
Mej. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon spokesperson (photo: Getty Images)
The US Department of Defense predicts an increase in casualties among North Korean soldiers who continue to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war on the side of Moscow and are involved in assaults in the Kursk region, state US Department of Defense spokesperson, Major General Pat Ryder.
The spokesperson for the US Department of Defense was asked to comment on South Korean intelligence regarding the death of at least 100 North Korean soldiers in battles with Ukrainian Defense Forces.
In discussing the US assessment of casualties among North Korean soldiers, Ryder stated that the US believes the current figure likely involves several hundred killed or wounded.
"We continue to observe and assess, I would say at this stage it's our assessment that several hundred DPRK forces have been or several hundred casualties, right, which would range from killed in action to wounded," Ryder said.
The Pentagon representative added that given the ongoing participation of these North Korean soldiers alongside Russian forces in battles against Ukrainian defenders, an increase in casualties among the North Korean contingent is expected.
"And as they engage in combat with the Russians, you know, we certainly would anticipate that those numbers will go up," Ryder noted.
Participation of North Korean troops in battles against the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region
Back in June, amid media reports about the possibility of sending North Korean soldiers to Russia to assist the Kremlin in its war against Ukraine, the Pentagon predicted that, if North Korean forces joined the Russian soldiers, they could become cannon fodder.
In the fall, it became known that North Korea had deployed over ten thousand of its soldiers to Russia. After training, some of them were sent to the Kursk region, where North Korean soldiers, alongside the Russian army, are fighting against Ukraine's Defense Forces.
On December 16, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Russia had already begun involving North Korean troops in the battles in the Kursk region.
As reported by Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, on December 18, the losses of North Korean forces in the Kursk region have already exceeded 200 soldiers.
On the same day, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon believes North Korea has already lost several hundred soldiers in the war. According to the US Department of Defense, Russia has concentrated about 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops to push Ukrainian forces out of the border areas of the Kursk region.
On December 19, British intelligence reported significant losses among North Korean forces in the Kursk region.
On December 20, South Korean intelligence stated that at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed in Russia, and another 1,000 had been wounded during clashes with Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region.
