North Korean soldiers discovered with fake Russian military ids

According to the Ukrainian military, North Korean soldiers who fight for Russia were given fake military documents with Russian names and birthplaces. This is done in the context of the claims from Kiev that Russia tries to hide the presence of foreign fighters on the battlefield.

North Korean soldiers in Russia

The Ukrainian special units announced on Sunday that they killed three North Korean soldiers in the western region of Kursk and confiscated their documents. These military cards "missing all stamps and photos, the father names are given in the Russian style, and the place of birth is noted as a republic of Tuwa," says the explanation, and refers to a Russian region in southern Siberia near Mongolia.

authentication of the military documents

However, the signatures on the documents are kept in Korean, which "indicates the true origin of these soldiers". The Ukrainian explanation confirms that Russia "uses every method to hide its losses on the battlefield and to deny foreign presence".

estimates of the emergency services

According to estimates by US, Ukrainian and South Korean secret services, the number of North Korean soldiers in Russia is between 11,000 and 12,000. Some of them have already participated in combat operations together with tens of thousands of Russian forces to regain parts of Kursk that were conquered in August as part of a Ukrainian offensive.

losses of the North Korean troops

According to the US and Ukrainian officials, the North Korean troops in the region suffered significant losses because Kiev accused Russia of disguising their participation. A high-ranking US official reported that North Korea has had "several hundred" losses-both dead and wounded-in Kursk since October. A South Korean MP stated that around 100 North Korean soldiers were considered dead and almost 1,000 were wounded since they were sent to Kursk.

Investments of Ukraine

On December 17, the Ukrainian special units reported that 50 North Korean soldiers were killed and 47 injured within just three days, while they fought alongside Russian troops in Kursk. A Ukrainian unit reported that North Koreans - dressed in other uniforms than the Russians - carried out infantry attacks with the "same tactics as 70 years ago", which obviously alluded to the Korean War in which waves were used by infantry.

official reactions from Russia and North Korea

Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have officially recognized the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj said that Russia tries to disguise the losses of North Korean troops on the battlefield and use extreme tactics to hide the identity of the North Korean soldiers falling in the fight.

Extreme measures for camouflage

"The Russians try ... literally the faces of the North Korean soldiers who died in the battle," said Selenskyj in an explanation on X on December 17, accompanied by a video that allegedly shows Russian soldiers who set the bodies of North Korean soldiers on fire.

unconfirmed video evidence

A Ukrainian drone unit on December 15 released a video that allegedly shows the corpses of more than 20 North Korean soldiers that are lined up in an icy field. However, the quality of the video was not sufficient to verify their identity.

attempts to cover up

Lt. Andriі Kovalenko, an official of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, announced that the Ukrainian unit recorded the film material before Russia was able to evacuate the corpses. "They try to hide North Koreans in certain operations as far as possible. Therefore, these bodies are usually set up in a row, then armored vehicles come and bring the corpses away," Kovalenko told the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.