Why Is a North Korean Officer There... 6 Dead and 3 Soldiers Injured on the Ukraine Frontline

Missile Attack on Russian Troops During Training Demonstration in Russian-Occupied Area Near Donetsk, Ukraine

It has been reported that six North Korean officers were killed by a missile attack from the Ukrainian military while observing a Russian military training demonstration in the Russian-occupied area near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

On the 4th (local time), the Ukrainian media Kyiv Post cited intelligence sources and reported that among the more than 20 people killed in the missile attack by the Ukrainian military the previous day, six were North Korean officers. It was also reported that more than three North Korean soldiers were injured and transported to Moscow. Russian social networking services (SNS) reported that the North Korean officers and soldiers who were killed or injured were observing the Russian military training demonstration at the time.

On June 19, Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, came out to Pyongyang International Airport to see off Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, who visited Pyongyang.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Donetsk is one of the fiercest battlegrounds in the Ukraine-Russia war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated, "Russia's main war objective is to occupy both Donetsk and Luhansk provinces."

Earlier, Ukrainian intelligence agencies disclosed information that North Korean personnel, including engineering units, were operating in Russian-occupied areas last year.

Additionally, the Ukrainian government claimed that Russia is planning to mobilize North Korean laborers for various construction projects in the occupied areas such as Donetsk and Luhansk.

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, relations between Russia and North Korea have become closer. North Korea is known to have supplied weapons such as artillery shells and missiles to Russia. The National Intelligence Service revealed that Russia received over one million artillery shells from North Korea and also launched North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine [Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

However, North Korea’s provision of artillery shells and missiles to Russia violates United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. The UNSC has banned all forms of arms transactions with North Korea. For this reason, at a high-level UNSC meeting last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky classified North Korea and Iran as accomplices in Russia’s war crimes. At the meeting, President Zelensky strongly condemned, saying, "North Korea and Iran are killing Ukrainian people by providing weapons and helping Vladimir Putin steal Ukrainian land."

Meanwhile, Ukraine is intensifying attacks on energy facilities in mainland Russia ahead of winter. AFP reported that on the morning of the 4th, the Ukrainian military conducted an airstrike on an oil storage facility in Voronezh Oblast, a border region of Russia. A source from the Ukrainian Security Service told AFP that the storage facility, which has 20 fuel storage tanks, was attacked overnight by drones. Although the Russian military’s air defense system was activated, it failed to intercept the attack, according to the source.

In the early hours of the previous day, the Ukrainian military also flew drones over the military airfield in Borisoglebsk, Voronezh Oblast, attacking aviation fuel storage facilities and armories. Ukraine claims that due to Russia’s attacks on its energy facilities, it is suffering from power shortages, and asserts that its military’s counterattacks targeting Russian military energy supply networks are lawful.