The US State Department has confirmed that North Korean troops have suffered casualties while fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk Oblast and warned that any potential crossing of North Korean forces into Ukraine would be considered a significant escalation.
North Korean troops started active operations against Ukrainian forces on 14 December 2024, as per President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement and several video evidence.
“North Korean soldiers who were deployed to Kursk are already legitimate targets. They entered a war, and they are, as such, combatants and are legitimate targets for the Ukrainian military,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing.
Miller noted that North Korean soldiers have been killed in action on the battlefield inside Russia. “If they were to cross the border into Ukraine, that would be yet another escalation by the Government of Russia and also an escalation by the Government of North Korea to send North Korean troops to prosecute a war of aggression against an independent, sovereign nation inside that nation’s borders,” he emphasized.
The statements come after reports of North Korean casualties in recent battles in the Kursk region. According to Ukrainian military intelligence estimates, North Korean units have lost at least 30 soldiers killed and wounded by Ukraine’s precision strikes. Afterward, North Korean troops suffered up to 250 casualties during infantry assaults, as per a Forbes report. The Pentagon has also confirmed that North Korean troops have engaged in combat alongside Russian forces in Kursk Oblast for the first time.
Recent footage and photos released by Ukrainian forces have documented casualties among Russian and North Korean military personnel in the Kursk region following recent assault attempts.
North Korea and Russia have intensified their cooperation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including signing an agreement for mutual military assistance in case of armed aggression against either country.
Related:
- Forbes: North Korean forces conduct large infantry assaults in Kursk Oblast
- Zelenskyy: Russians burn faces of killed North Korean soldiers to conceal losses
- EU representative warns “Putin won’t stop until Stopped” as bloc hits Russia with new sanctions
- Breaking: Moscow assassination eliminates Russian chemical warfare chief wanted by Ukraine
