"Russia Attempts to Integrate Own Troops Instead of Forming Independent North Korean Military Unit"

It has been confirmed that North Korean troops deployed to Russia engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces, while an analysis suggests that the Russian military will attempt to integrate North Korean troops into its own units rather than organizing them as an independent unit. Foreign media also reported that the Ukrainian military is teaching Korean in preparation for interrogations of prisoners and engagements with North Korean forces.

The U.S. think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analyzed the organization and command structure of the North Korean troops deployed to Russia based on the first combat situation in its Ukraine war analysis report released on the 5th (local time). ISW highlighted Ukrainian authorities’ remarks that it is difficult to accurately assess the scale of casualties because the North Korean troops involved in the combat are disguised as ethnic minority soldiers within the Russian military, wearing Russian uniforms.

ISW noted, "This suggests that the Russian military is attempting to integrate North Korea’s combat capabilities into the Russian unit structure rather than maintaining a separate North Korean unit fighting under Russian command." The Ukrainian side estimates that in addition to about 10,000 North Korean troops gathered in Kursk Oblast, more North Korean soldiers currently training in Russia’s Far East region will be deployed to the battlefield within weeks.

ISW believes that Russia is most likely to prioritize deploying these North Korean troops to repel Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, which Ukraine launched a surprise attack on last summer.

Currently, the Ukrainian military has distributed a booklet containing guidelines for capturing and interrogating North Korean soldiers. The British daily The Times cited a soldier serving on the Donetsk front, reporting that the booklet includes how to ask questions in Korean such as "How many are here?", "How long have you been here?", and "What weapons do you have?" Earlier, a Ukrainian document leaked through a pro-Russian Telegram account also contained Korean phrases like "What is your mission?" and "Drop your weapons," along with their transliterations into Cyrillic characters.

Ukraine is concerned that North Korean troops may operate not only in the Kursk area but also in the Donbas region. It is reported that 1,500 North Korean soldiers are training in Russia’s Far East region in unfamiliar technologies necessary for drone warfare, such as radio electronic defense. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, Russia has supplied the North Korean troops deployed in Kursk with assault rifles, machine guns, mortars, anti-tank guided missiles, rocket launchers, night vision goggles, and thermal imaging cameras.

However, it remains uncertain how much combat effectiveness the North Korean troops, who have no combat experience since the Korean War, will demonstrate on the Ukrainian battlefield. The Times reported that "due to insufficient communication, such as having only one interpreter for every 30 North Korean soldiers, the Russian military’s response to the deployed North Korean troops has been lukewarm."