What happened to the 10,000 North Korean troops deployed in support of Russian forces in Russia's Kursk region? Speculation is multiplying with each passing day. Kyiv claimed at the end of January that the North Korean troops had been "withdrawn" due to heavy losses. Citing a South Korean intelligence source, the Yonhap news agency reported on February 7 that North Korean troops had disappeared from the Kursk region since mid-January.
On the evening of February 7, however, Volodymyr Zelensky declared that North Korean servicemen were again fighting in Kursk. "New assaults took place in the areas of the Kursk operation, – the Russian army with North Korean soldiers brought in again," claimed the Ukrainian president, adding that "hundreds" of Russian and North Korean soldiers had been "eliminated." According to the 47th Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, "the enemy has changed tactics." "If previously they attacked mainly with armor, now they throw infantry into the assault" and "go up to the assault with quads," they wrote on their Telegram channel on February 9.
Seoul has not reacted to Zelensky's statements and remains cautious. There are two possible explanations for these different assessments. The South Korean intelligence services are disturbed by the political chaos reigning in their country and are leaking contradictory information. Their Ukrainian counterparts, on the other hand, are seeking to substantiate the presence of North Koreans alongside the Russians.
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