North Koreans take heavy losses in Ukraine for minor battlefield gains, British intelligence says

North Korean troops sent to join Russia’s war against neighboring Ukraine have likely sustained significant combat casualties while achieving little on the battlefield, British intelligence officials said Wednesday.

About 11,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to have deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a dramatic incursion in August. Pentagon sources say the North Korean troops are generally organized into platoon-sized units assigned to Russian infantry companies.

It is the largest overseas deployment of forces for the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un since the Korean War of the early 1950s. And things have not all gone smoothly so far.

“Russian and [North Korean] forces are almost certainly experiencing interoperability difficulties,” the U.K. military officials said on X in the latest war assessment. “The two forces do not share a common language, and [North Korean] troops almost certainly have difficulties integrating into Russia’s command and control structure.”

Despite the tactical challenges, the British analysts said Russia and North Korea have deepened their bilateral partnership with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, which includes a mutual defense clause, that took effect on Dec. 4.

The U.K. analysts said Pyongyang’s military support of Moscow has likely been the core driver for a partnership that, until recently, focused mainly on North Korea’s willingness to supply munitions.

“In return, [North Korea] has received high-level international support from Russia and has secured a trading partner willing to break sanctions,” the officials said.

Economic sanctions are an essential element of U.S. and international efforts to address North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and threats against its neighbors in the region.