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- North Korean troops don’t realize drones are dangerous and are sitting ducks, Ukraine troops said.
- They have engaged in combat against Ukrainian troops in Kursk, per US and Ukraine officials.
- A couple hundred were killed or wounded in combat in the Kursk region, a US official said.
Ukrainian officials and soldiers told The Washington Post that North Korea’s troops are frequently getting killed by drones they don’t seem to consider dangerous.
The accounts point to an apparent gap in the knowledge of the troops sent by Kim Jong Un to support Russia’s invasion.
The prevalence and effectiveness of drones is a defining feature of the war in Ukraine, and experienced soldiers there have described to Business Insider a widespread fear of them.
But North Korea’s troops are new to the war, separated by a language barrier, and appear not to have the same approach.
Three Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the Kursk region of Russia told the Post that waves of what seemed to be North Korean forces advanced directly at Ukrainian positions defended by drones and other weapons.
“We were very surprised; we had never seen anything like it — 40 to 50 people running across a field,” one drone commander told the Post.
“FPV drones, artillery, and other weapons struck them because they were moving in the open field,” he said. “You can imagine the result.”
Another drone operator, Artem, told the outlet that instead of running away from the drones, the North Korean troops shot at them “indiscriminately,” while others just kept moving. Many were killed, he said.
During a nighttime drone operation, Artem said he recognized three soldiers based on their heat signatures on a thermal camera and anticipated killing only one — but when the other two failed to react fast enough, he and his comrades struck all three.
He described the experience as “bizarre,” adding, “It was the first time it felt like playing a computer simulator on easy mode.”
On Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said North Korean troops had moved to the front lines and were “actively engaged in combat operations.”
During a press briefing that same day, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said they had indications that North Korean soldiers engaged in combat in Kursk had suffered losses.
At least 30 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded during assault operations near the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, and Martynovka in or near the Kursk region last weekend, Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) said on Monday.
A couple hundred North Korean troops were killed or wounded in combat in the Kursk region, a senior military official told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the GUR said North Korean troops had set up extra observation posts, fearing Ukrainian drone attacks after suffering serious losses.
