"Struck Like a 'Hurricane'... 'No Prisoners Taken'"
Contradicts Ukraine's Claim That North Korean Forces Handle Rear Areas
There are claims that North Korean troops deployed in Russia killed 300 Ukrainian soldiers and recaptured a Russian village.
On the 13th (local time), the U.S.-based North Korea specialist media NK News reported that claims of North Korean troops participating in their first battle in Plyokhovo village, Kursk Oblast, a Russian village near the Ukraine border, first appeared on the ‘Romanov Right’ Telegram channel that day.
This Telegram channel, with about 140,000 subscribers, is run by blogger Vladimir Romanov, who calls himself a ‘war correspondent.’
Romanov wrote that North Korean special forces raided the area like a ‘hurricane’ on the 6th, completing the operation in less than two hours, stating, “The North Korean troops did not take Ukrainian prisoners but killed more than 300.”
Oleg Charyov, a pro-Russian politician and former Ukrainian lawmaker, confirmed the news as true without further explanation and claimed that the North Korean troops were a reconnaissance unit armed with light weapons.
Other Telegram channels covering war news also reported similar information, adding more details.
Boenkor Kotenok, another self-proclaimed ‘war correspondent’ with 400,000 subscribers, posted on his channel that North Korean troops “broke through a minefield, advanced 2 km, swiftly attacked the position, and destroyed the Ukrainian occupying forces,” adding that some North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded.
However, ‘Two Major,’ with 1.2 million subscribers, claimed that it was mainly Russian troops who led the Plyokhovo offensive, comparing it to “an adult cat training its kittens to hunt with a half-dead mouse.” The claim was that North Korean troops only achieved victory against a weakened Ukrainian force.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense did not comment on the Plyokhovo battle, where North Korean involvement was mentioned, nor did it respond to NK News’ inquiries. Sabrina Singh, the Ministry of Defense deputy spokesperson, previously stated, “We have not yet seen North Korean troops in Kursk on the 9th or participating in combat.”
NK News pointed out that claims of North Korean troops engaging in battle contradict Ukraine’s existing claims that North Korean forces are responsible for rear support duties such as observation posts, checkpoints, and security, rather than frontline combat.
However, a map produced by an NGO affiliated with the Ukrainian government showed that Russian forces had occupied Plyokhovo.
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