Increasing Casualties Among North Korean Deployment Troops [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

Casualties among North Korean soldiers deployed in the Russia-Ukraine war are increasing. Since October, North Korea has dispatched a special forces unit numbering up to 12,000 to assist Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and videos related to casualties have even been released.

On the 18th, the US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that the Ukrainian military released footage showing attacks on North Korean soldiers using drones.

The Ukrainian 8th Special Operations Regiment (CCO) posted the video on their Telegram channel and Facebook on the 17th (local time). The footage shows multiple scenes of drones flying toward soldiers. The video was filmed using a camera attached to the drone and switches to another screen just before reaching the target. In the video, the soldiers are defenselessly exposed to drone attacks in an open field. They hurriedly try to hide behind trees, but it appears to be of little use.

The CCO claimed that the soldiers attacked were North Korean, stating, "Over the past three days of attacks, more than 50 North Korean soldiers have died and 47 were injured." However, the video does not show any scenes that can confirm these soldiers are North Korean. A US Department of Defense official told RFA that there is no additional comment regarding this video.

North Korean troops have been deployed to Kursk, Russia, where fierce battles with Ukrainian forces are taking place, and some casualties appear to have occurred. US media reported that a high-ranking North Korean officer was injured in an attack by the UK-made Storm Shadow air-to-ground cruise missile by Ukrainian forces, and the US Department of Defense also reported that North Korean soldiers suffered casualties during combat.

The Ukrainian media outlet 'Evocation Info' claimed to have obtained and released footage on their Telegram channel showing injured North Korean soldiers receiving treatment at a hospital in Kursk. In the video, Asian men dressed in civilian clothes rather than military uniforms are seen with bandaged hands or limping as they move. Photos were also posted showing them lying on beds or resting in what appears to be a multi-bed hospital room.

However, the US government has stated, "There are signs that North Korean soldiers who participated in battles in Kursk, Russia, have suffered casualties." This is the first time US authorities have officially confirmed North Korean troops' engagement in combat and the occurrence of casualties. As more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are actively deployed to the Ukrainian battlefield, casualties are expected to increase further.

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions, freezing the assets of Kim Young-bok, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Korean People's Army, and Ri Chang-ho, Director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, who led North Korea's deployment to Russia. Individuals and organizations involved in ballistic missile development were also added en masse to the sanctions list.