British intel: North Korea suffers 6,000+ casualties supporting Russia in Kursk

More than half of the North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia’s Kursk region have been killed, wounded, or gone missing as a result of combat operations against Ukraine, according to a British Ministry of Defence intelligence report released on June 15.

The report, cited by Caliber.Az, estimates that over 6,000 of the approximately 11,000 North Korean military personnel sent to the area have become casualties.

UK intelligence attributes the heavy losses to “large and highly attritional dismounted assaults” in the region, which has seen intensified fighting in recent months.

The intelligence update also notes a significant diplomatic development: on June 4, Russian Security Council Secretary and former Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea for the second time in three months. During his trip, he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, underscoring the deepening military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Analysts believe Shoigu serves as the Kremlin’s key negotiator in coordinating North Korea’s military support for Russia’s war effort. North Korean involvement has so far remained limited to operations within Russia’s borders, specifically in the Kursk direction.

The UK report suggests that any expansion of North Korean military actions into internationally recognised Ukrainian territory would require direct authorisation from both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

By Khagan Isayev