More Than Half Of North Korean Troops Sent To Russia Injured Or Killed, UK Says

Russian Defence Ministry image of a Russian soldier fires a gun toward a Ukrainian position in the Russian-Ukrainian border area in the Kursk region.More than half of the North Korean troops sent to fight on Vladimir Putin’s behalf in Russia have been injured or killed, according to the UK.North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un signed a mutual defence pact with the Russian president last year, meaning they would each send troops to the other if attacked by a third party.Ukrainian troops launched a surprise incursion across the Russian border last August, an act of retaliation years after Putin first invaded Ukraine.So North Korean soldiers were deployed to the Russian region of Kursk to fight alongside the Russians.But, according to the UK, the North Korean side took more than 6,000 casualties out of the total 11,000 soldiers it sent to aid Putin.Putin has been ploughing through his own soldiers, forcing them forwards on the frontline using what UK prime minister Keir Starmer previously described as “meat-grinder” tactics.Russia has now reached one million estimated losses since invading Ukraine in February 2022.In its latest update on X, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said: “The total casualties amount to more than half of the approximately 11,000 DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] troops initially deployed to the Kursk region.”The British officials said North Korea has since restricted how many troops it sends, noting: “Open-source reports suggest DPRK has subsequently deployed limited numbers of additional troops to Kursk.”The officials added that the casualty rates have “almost certainly been sustained primarily through large, highly attritional dismounted assaults”.North Korean operations have been confined to the Kursk region to prevent pulling the country directly into the Ukraine war.As the MoD explained: “Any decision to deploy into international recognised, sovereign Ukrainian territory in support of Russian forces, would almost certainly require sign-off from both Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.”It’s also believed that North Korean troops have struggled to integrate with their Russian counterparts.The MoD previously warned: “The two forces do not share a common language and DPRK troops almost certainly have difficulties integrating into Russia’s command and control structure.”Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - June 15 2025.Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/1vB3QSA41N#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/E8DnAa64eZ— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 15, 2025The update comes amid ongoing attempts by the US to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in a bid to end the war, which began in 2022.Related...Trump Uses 1 Rather Bizarre Word As He Ponders Why 'Everyone Hates Russia'Russian Forces Have Sustained A Million Losses In Ukraine War, UK SaysPutin Ambassador Accuses UK Of Helping Ukraine Attack Russia – And Comes Up With A Bizarre British Motive

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