{"id":84429,"date":"2024-12-16T12:18:39","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T12:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/12\/16\/north-korean-troops-were-reportedly-killed-fighting-against-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:17:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:17:03","slug":"north-korean-troops-were-reportedly-killed-fighting-against-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2024\/12\/16\/north-korean-troops-were-reportedly-killed-fighting-against-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korean troops killed fighting against Ukraine, Pentagon confirms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 North Korean troops have entered combat in the Russian region of Kursk and already begun to suffer casualties, the Pentagon confirmed Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do assess that North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat in Kursk alongside Russian forces. We do have indications that they have suffered casualties, both killed and wounded,\u201d said Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder in a briefing with reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon estimates 12,000 North Korean soldiers have traveled to the region, after the country\u2019s dictator, Kim Jong Un, offered to send reinforcements earlier this fall. Until recently, though, they hadn\u2019t yet entered combat, even as Russia continues to take more than 1,000 casualties per day across the front line, per U.S. figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryder said the troops entered the fight sometime last week and integrated into Russian formations, adding that their use was so far restricted to Kursk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence agency first reported the development earlier Monday, claiming that around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded in fighting against the Ukrainian<\/a> army at the weekend in Russia\u2019s Kursk border region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North Korean casualties occurred around three villages in Kursk, where Russia has for four months been trying to quash a Ukrainian incursion, the agency, known by its acronym GUR, said in a public post on the Telegram messaging app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least three North Korean servicemen went missing around another Kursk village, GUR said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not possible to independently verify the Ukrainian claims, which are the first reports of North Korean casualties in the almost 3-year war.<\/p>\n\n\n\t