South Korean Intelligence, whose reports have been accurate for months despite Russia's attempts to cover up the realities on the ground, has informed Ukraine that the Pyongyang regime is preparing an even larger shipment of soldiers to assist Russia in its war against Ukraine. If in the first shipment in October about 12,000 members of the North Korean Army arrived, who after a brief training were deployed in Kursk, in the next two months another shipment of about 100,000 soldiers is expected.
If in the first shipment, those soldiers were accompanied by dozens of long-range M-1989 Koksan cannons and tons of artillery shells, now curious trucks that appear to be civil refrigerated vehicles have been seen and recorded in video within Russia, but actually hide an MLRS rocket launcher similar to Soviet-origin Grad missiles. We know this because they were seen as a novelty in Kim Jong-un's army during the last military parade in Pyongyang.
The South Korean delegation currently in Kiev has assisted Ukrainian authorities with translations of the interrogations of the two North Koreans captured in Kursk, which served to show the world that all the camouflage maneuvers by Russia have proved futile. Moscow provided them with Russian flora digital uniforms, patches of Russian units with personnel from Asian republics in their ranks, and even Russian Federation passports to confuse about their true nationality, but none of this has deceived the Ukrainian defenders.
The reality is that we are learning more about these soldiers every day, who have orders to commit suicide before falling into enemy hands, and if a Ukrainian patrol approaches, they are ordered to detonate a grenade next to their own body to cause casualties among their captors as well. The Russians have assigned entire front areas to these troops not only to defend them but also to carry out their assaults, which are done without using any armored vehicles, but in broad daylight and in open fields. While the Russians advance in small groups to make their location more difficult, using motorcycles or any other vehicle to transport them at high speed, the North Koreans attack on foot in units of about 40 members.
Another peculiarity that catches attention is their physical fitness. According to a veteran soldier facing them in the Kursk region, "they are very strong and well-trained to withstand any effort. We are struck by how fanatical they appear. They do not stop at artillery attacks, have good shooting accuracy, a sign that they have trained for years, and carry out surprising tactics, such as using comrades as bait for drones so that others try to shoot them down, even putting their lives at high risk. If they discover that a field is heavily mined, they do not stop either."
As a result, around 300 North Koreans died in those initial assaults, with approximately three times as many wounded. Some U.S. sources claim that about one-third of all North Korean soldiers sent to Kursk have already died, giving an idea of the cannon fodder nature they are being used for.
The remaining comrades, when they return from assaults to their bases, spend hours fascinated by the websites they can access on their mobile phones, something unthinkable in opaque North Korea, especially pornographic content pages.
The The New York Times has also interviewed other Ukrainian officers who have analyzed their behavior and reached these conclusions: "If they seize a position, they do not try to secure it. They let the Russian reinforcements behind them take care of it, while they withdraw and prepare for another assault". They operate independently from the rest of the Russian army, as an assault unit, with their own language for communication and their own radio frequencies.
The North Korean forces deployed in Ukraine include around 500 officers and at least three generals, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. The North Korean generals are stationed at the Russian headquarters in the city of Kursk, where they are briefed on their objectives and coordinate operations.
Ukrainian soldiers, taking refuge in well-defended areas with fortifications and trenches, have killed many of these soldiers, but are beginning to respect them. "They cannot be underestimated," says Oleksii, one of the Ukrainian commanders defending the attack area. "The North Koreans are starting to advance on the front lines, targeting less defended areas and thus wearing down our troops. They had no combat experience but now they are here, gaining experience and becoming very strong."