North Korean forces suffering 'mass casualties' on Russian frontlines with Ukraine | DW News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says several wounded North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine while fighting in Russia have died. He accused Russia of throwing them into battle with quote "minimal protection". Pyongyang has sent an estimated 11,000 troops to support the Russian armed forces.

North Koreans are reportedly being deployed in the Kursk region - the Russian territory captured by Ukraine over the summer. US officials say North Korean forces are suffering "mass casualties" there on the front lines, with around a thousand soldiers killed or wounded this past week alone.

Here's Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking about the North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine: ''The Russians send them into assaults with minimal protection. Today, there were reports about several soldiers from North Korea. Our soldiers managed to capture them, but they were very seriously wounded and could not be revived. This is one of the manifestations of the madness that dictatorships are capable of. The Korean people should not lose their people in battles in Europe. And this can be influenced by Korea's neighbors, particularly China. If China is sincere in its statements that the war should not expand, appropriate influence on Pyongyang is needed.''

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Jenny Town is a Senior Fellow at the US think tank Stimson Center and the Director of Stimson’s 38 North Program which provides analysis of events in and around North Korea.

Edward Howell is a lecturer in International Relations at the University of Oxford and an expert on Korea.

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