North Korea began sending an estimated 11,000 troops to the Russian Kursk region late last year, soon after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on a mutual defense pact designed to strengthen their alliance against what they called a US-led “Western hegemony.”

This is almost certainly primarily due to heavy losses sustained during attacks against Ukrainian-held positions.” Reports differ on the scale of the losses but one put them as high as 4,000 North Korean soldiers killed or wounded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Friday, 7 February, that Russian forces have once again deployed North Korean troops to Russia’s Kursk Oblast, with new assaults reported in the area.