Nearly 8,000 North Korean soldiers are still fighting in Kursk region – Budanov

Around 8,000 North Korean soldiers are still fighting against Ukraine in the Kursk region, said Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov in an interview with The War Zone, published on February 4.

On January 30, The New York Times reported that North Korean troops had been withdrawn from the front line. A representative of the Special Operations Forces later confirmed to Kyiv Independent that Ukrainian special forces had not encountered North Korean soldiers for three weeks.

Budanov refuted this information. However, he noted that the number of North Korean troops has decreased, and Ukraine is working to determine why.

"We need to wait some time to see whether there are real changes or if this is just a temporary decrease in activity for a few days," Budanov said.

In the fall of last year, up to 12,000 North Korean troops were deployed to the Kursk region.

At least 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 wounded in battles in the Kursk region, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) on January 13.

The high losses among North Korean forces may be due to their lack of combat experience and their use of human wave attacks with limited equipment, Budanov added. According to him, North Korean soldiers attack "almost without any combat vehicles."

Budanov also suggested that North Korean troops may be so willing to advance on foot against Ukrainian drones and artillery due to their loyalty to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and their readiness to die for him. He added that their disregard for personal safety makes the tasks of Ukraine’s Defense Forces more difficult.