North Korean troops face high casualties in outdated tactics
North Korean soldiers are employing Soviet tactics, which have become outdated in modern warfare, according to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Nonetheless, the North Koreans could still pose a challenge because they are "massed and motivated."
Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported that North Korean soldiers are using tactics from the Soviet era.
Syrskyi explained that their tactics are rooted in Soviet-era strategies involving large numbers of platoons and companies launching attacks. He noted that modern warfare, dominated by drones, typically relies on minor assault or defensive groups. However, when a platoon of over a hundred soldiers mounts a multi-directional attack with notable bravery, it presents a considerable challenge. He also mentioned that North Korean soldiers face shortages of ammunition.
Syrskyi noted that between 11,000 and 12,000 well-motivated and trained soldiers from North Korea were sent to assist Russia in its war against Ukraine. However, half of them have already been wounded or killed in action.
Bleak outlook for North Korean soldiers in Russia
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that the entire North Korean contingent, approximately 12,000 soldiers located in the Kursk region, could be killed or wounded in battles by mid-April 2025 if the high level of losses among North Korean forces continues.
Ukraine's Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, reported on November 5, 2024, that North Korean forces were involved in "small-scale" skirmishes in the Kursk region. At the beginning of January, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 3,800 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in the Kursk region.
This indicates that North Korea has been experiencing an average of 92 losses per day since significant combat operations began in early December 2024. If North Korea has indeed deployed approximately 12,000 soldiers to the Kursk region, the entire contingent could be killed or wounded within about 12 weeks (by mid-April 2025) if this rate of losses continues.
Previously, South Korea's National Intelligence Service reported that 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 wounded in battles in the Kursk region.
