North Korean troops suffer over 1,000 losses in Kursk Oblast in past week, White House official says

North Korean troops are experiencing mass casualties while fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine in Kursk Oblast, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Dec. 27.

The comments come a day after Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) on Dec. 26 reported that North Korean troops had suffered heavy losses in Kursk Oblast.

The White House believes more than 1,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded over the past week alone, Kirby said in a press briefing.

“It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses,” he said.

Kirby said that North Korean units had been carrying out “human wave” attacks against Ukrainian positions in Kursk Oblast, with little effect.

North Korean soldiers have reportedly taken their own lives rather than surrender to Ukrainian troops, out of fear their families will be targeted over their capture, Kirby added.

“I hope they’re loading up their commanders with a bunch of body bags, because they’re clearly going to need it,” he said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 23 that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured since their deployment in Kursk Oblast.

Russia has stationed approximately 12,000 North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region to assist in ousting Ukrainian forces. The first confirmed battles between Ukrainian and North Korean units occurred on Nov. 5.

Ukraine first began its surprise incursion into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6. Ukrainian forces have been fighting to hold onto territory in the region ever since, in hopes it can be used as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with Russia.