A new batch of North Korean soldiers are reportedly deploying to the Ukraine-Russia war as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to rapidly pursue an end to the conflict, The Associated Press reported Thursday.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported that North Korea sent an additional 1,000 to 3,000 soldiers to the Kursk region between January and February, according to the AP. The rogue state began helping Russia in its war effort in October 2024, sending an initial batch of 1,500 special forces soldiers and 10,000 regular troops in November.
The Pentagon told the Daily Caller News Foundation that it is aware of the reports, but hasn’t seen any indications of troops being deployed.
While North Korean troops continue to suffer significant casualties, Ukrainian officials note that the North Koreans have adopted extreme tactics on the battlefield that make them stand out from their Russian counterparts, The New York Times reported. The tactics include things such as detonating a grenade when mortally wounded to avoid capture.
Ukrainian Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky told the NYT in January that the North Korean soldiers were “highly motivated, well-trained” and “brave,” warning that they shouldn’t be underestimated
Russia has denied deploying North Korean troops in the past, with some of the hermit country’s soldiers even being issued false identity cards registering them as residents in Russia’s far east provinces, according to the NYT.
The Trump administration has quickly moved to quell the years-long war, as Ukraine continues to suffer from mounting casualties, manpower shortages and declining morale. Russia, too, has taken a beating in the conflict and racked up enormous casualties.
Most recently, Ukraine and the U.S. hashed out a deal to jointly develop mineral, oil and gas extraction in the nation, which was seen as a crucial step to negotiating a ceasefire in the war. The deal is expected to be finalized on Friday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Trump in Washington.
“The minerals agreement is only part of the picture. We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it’s part of a bigger picture,” Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and justice minister, told the Financial Times on the deal.
The war has raged on for three years, with Zelenskyy saying that 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers have fallen to Russian forces as of Feb. 16, and Ukrainian civilian casualties numbering in the tens of thousands. However, casualty estimates can vary wildly, as Ukraine does not disclose official figures and Russia tends to undercount its total casualties, U.S. officials told the NYT in August 2023.
The Trump administration has signaled it is less keen on continuing to pour taxpayer dollars into Ukraine’s defense, as roughly $170 billion has been spent without a Ukrainian victory to show for it.
“We will protect those trillions. We will prevent Russia from mining the minerals which will later be used to produce technologies for the three countries of the axis of evil,” Zelenskyy said Feb. 9 stating his desire for peace. “The Americans helped the most, and therefore the Americans should earn the most. And in rebuilding Ukraine, they should have this priority. And they will.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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