An anonymous American official told a British newspaper. guardian Communist North Korea said on Tuesday it had recorded hundreds of casualties in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
This estimate is likely higher than the “dozens” given Monday by President Donald Trump's National Security and Public Affairs Adviser John Kirby, suggesting a large-scale military deployment by North Korea to Europe's borders. . American and other Western officials, including Ukrainians, believe that most of these soldiers are operating in the area around Kursk. Kursk is a Russian region that Ukraine invaded in August in a surprise operation aimed at stopping Russian advances into its territory.
This week's reports of significant North Korean combat losses come alongside a barrage of sensational reports by the Ukrainian government about the situation of North Koreans on the battlefield. The Ukrainian government accused Russian soldiers of burning the faces of dead North Koreans to hide their origins, claiming: A large-scale “friendly fire” incident occurred in which North Korea killed several Russian soldiers.
North Korea has not yet confirmed sending troops to the Russian war, but state media and dictator Kim Jong Un have enthusiastically supported the invasion. Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defense pact in June that many have suggested would require North Korea to join in defending Russian territory from a Ukrainian attack.
Anonymous “senior US military official'' speaks guardian explained North Korea has suffered “hundreds of casualties” since its involvement in the invasion of Russia this fall. Russia initially invaded Ukraine in 2014, but in February 2022 it launched a “special operation” to oust President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling for direct Russian military action rather than an attack by pro-Russian separatist forces. urged.
“Hundreds of casualties are our latest estimate from North Korea. [North Korea] The official said casualties ranged from “everything from minor injuries to KIA (killed in action).”
The official blamed the high death toll on the North Korean military's inexperience, but said “all ranks” of North Korean soldiers were affected.
The Ukrainian government independently proposed On Wednesday, it announced that hundreds of North Koreans had died in the war, citing intercepted telephone communications from Russians working at the hospital and commenting on the apparent large number of North Koreans coming to the hospital. . According to Ukraine's state broadcaster Ukrinform, the intercepted communications included a nurse's lament. I told my husband that hundreds of people from the front were being taken by train to hospitals in Moscow.
The nurse also reportedly complained that her hospital was “saving certain wards” for Koreans and asked if they were “elite.”
Kirby, a senior White House official, explained North Korea said in a statement to reporters on Monday that it had suffered “grave losses.”
“I don't know the exact numbers, but I do believe that there were significant losses in terms of deaths and injuries, but it's difficult to reveal the actual numbers,'' Kirby said. “I definitely think it’s in the realm of dozens and dozens.”
Kirby noted that outgoing President Joe Biden recently approved additional sanctions against North Korean individuals believed to be funding the Russian invasion, and noted that U.S. intelligence agencies believe that North Koreans are “on the battlefield.” “We are being moved from the second line to the front line,” he warned. Battlefield means actively engaged in combat operations. ”
Separately, State Department press secretary Matthew Miller made remarks. said At the briefing, reporters said U.S. officials had seen “dead North Korean soldiers on the battlefield inside Russia, and if they crossed the border into Ukraine, it would be a further escalation by the Russian government.” said.
“In our view, the North Korean soldiers sent to Kursk are already legitimate targets. They took part in the war, they are combatants themselves, and they are legitimate targets for the Ukrainian military.” he added.
North Korea and Russia have historically maintained friendly relations, which Kim Jong Un and strongman Vladimir Putin have significantly strengthened over the past year, apparently at the expense of North Korea's closest ally, China. I've been doing it. Putin visited Pyongyang in June for the first time in 20 years and signed a mutual defense agreement that obligates both countries to provide military assistance to the other country's defense. This was quickly followed by reports of the deployment of North Korean troops to the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian officials have claimed to have seen North Koreans on the front lines since November. They also claim that Russia is trying to hide its presence. Neither Russia nor North Korea have confirmed the presence of Kim's troops in the theater.
On Monday, President Zelenskyy published a video on social media claiming that Russian soldiers were “literally trying to burn the faces of North Korean soldiers who died in battle.”
[Warning: graphic video]
“This is an expression of the disrespect and contempt for everything human that is currently rampant in Russia,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “There is no reason for the North Korean people to fight and die for Putin. And even after they do, Russia will have nothing but humiliation for them.”
