Kyiv said the presence of North Koreans in Kursk had not yet had a ‘major impact’ on the course of the fighting.
By Taejun Kang for RFA
Taipai,Taiwan – Ukraine revealed a handwritten note it said was found on the body of a North Korean soldier killed in Russia’s Kursk region, as part of its latest evidence highlighting the increasing presence and casualties of North Korean troops in Russia.
U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian authorities have said there are up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia, deployed there primarily to help Russia push Ukrainian forces out of positions they captured in Kursk in August.
As of Monday, Ukraine reported that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in the Russian region, while South Korea estimated the number of casualties among North Korean troops is at least 1,100.
“Dear Song Ji-myong, my closest comrade in arms, celebrating his birthday here on Russian land, away from our beloved Choson and the embrace of his affectionate father and mother,” read the crumpled letter, written in black ballpoint pen. North Koreans refer to their country as Choson.
“I sincerely wish you good health and a happy birthday.”
According to the Ukrainian military, the name written on the soldier’s identification card was Jong Kyong-hong. It is believed that the letter was either not delivered or was a draft, as it was dated Dec. 9.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces released a photograph of the note, which was written in Korean, on Tuesday.
“These are some of the deciphered entries from seized notebooks … translations of other entries are in progress and more will be revealed,” said the Ukrainian military.
Radio Free Asia has not been able to independently verify the photo.
Separately, a Ukrainian military intelligence official said the presence of North Korean soldiers alongside Russian troops in Kursk had not yet had a major influence on the course of the battle.
“The involvement of the North Koreans in the fighting has not had a significant impact on the situation. It is not such a significant number of personnel,” Yevgen Yerin, spokesperson for the Ukrainian military intelligence service, told AFP.
“But they are also learning. And we cannot underestimate the enemy. And we can see that they are already taking some things into account in their activities,” he added.
Yerin’s remarks came about a week after South Korea’s spy agency said that North Korean soldiers’ inexperience in modern warfare was leading to mass casualties.
“North Korean troops are being ‘consumed’ for front-line assaults in an unfamiliar battlefield environment of open fields, and they lack the ability to respond to drone attacks,” said the South’s National Intelligence Service.
Russian troops were complaining about the North Koreans’ ignorance of drones, calling them a “burden,” the agency added, without elaborating.
Neither President Vladimir Putin nor North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has confirmed the North’s troop deployment to Russia but reports indicate that ties between two countries are progressing swiftly.
The South’s spy agency said last week that North Korea’s military was likely preparing to deploy additional troops and military equipment to Russia, potentially including so-called suicide drones, in support of Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
On Monday, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said that he thought it was likely North Korean troops would participate in Russia’s Red Square parade next year.
Edited by Mike Firn.
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