North Korean military Photo: getty images

The North Korean military, which is fighting on the side of Russia in the war against Ukraine, has already been involved in assault operations in the Kursk region. According to Forbes on Monday, 16 December, the losses of DPRK units as a result of one attack could reach 4% of their number.

According to the newspaper, more than 500 DPRK soldiers from the 92nd and 94th separate special operations brigades took part in the assault on the village of Plekhove on Saturday. As a result of three waves of attacks through open fields , North Korean infantry managed to dislodge about 100 Ukrainian soldiers who were holding the village.

“DPRK losses are likely to be up to half of all the soldiers involved in the attack,” Forbes writes. The main reason for such high casualties was that the North Koreans attacked during the day, on foot, literally marching through minefields under the surveillance of Ukrainian drones.

“Eventually, they came under fire from drones and artillery. After the battle, the trucks took away hundreds of dead and wounded North Koreans,” the newspaper said.

Ukraine’s 17th Heavy Mechanised Brigade, which is defending the western edge of the ledge, reported “significant enemy losses”, including possible losses among the North Korean military.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation, stressed that the massive attacks by North Korean infantry are part of the strategy of the Russian command, which “relies on numbers”.

“It is unclear how long North Korea’s 11th Army Corps will be able to sustain its strategy of attrition attacks. The corps may have lost one out of every 25 soldiers to death or injury over the weekend,” Forbes concludes.

These events confirm Russia’s use of foreign troops to strengthen its offensive capabilities, but the excessive losses cast doubt on the effectiveness of this tactic.