Ukrainian forces do not assume that the soldiers sent by North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un to support Russia have returned home. “I believe they will reappear at the front. They will have adapted” said Anton Zakharchuk, deputy commander of the 95th Air Assault Brigade, to the Funke Media Group’s newspapers (Thursday editions).
The 95th Brigade had been fighting in the northeast of the Kursk front since December against North Korean units. The North Koreans had been used as stormtroopers, the officer said. His brigade had killed at least 100 North Korean soldiers. Due to the high losses among the North Korean troops, speculation had been rife in recent days that they might be withdrawn from the combat zone.
Zakharchuk, who commands a drone unit, reports that the North Koreans have not been seen at the front for two weeks. However, he believes they are simply regrouping. The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, HUR, had also denied the withdrawal of the North Koreans. Around 8,000 North Korean soldiers are still active in the Kursk region, said Kyrylo Budanow to the magazine “War Zone”.