What the North Koreans took into battle against Ukraine

A vocabulary list of Russian phrases written phonetically in Korean, found on a North Korean assaulting soldier in Russia’s Kursk region, photographed on Tuesday in the Sumy region of Ukraine. (Photos by Ed Ram for The Washington Post)
THE WASHINGTON POST | Published January 19, 2025

Weapons and notes left on dead North Korean troops in Russia give Ukraine a glimpse into their mindset — and show how they are quickly adapting to modern war.

SUMY REGION, Ukraine — “Resistance is futile.” “Surrender.” “You’re all surrounded.”

The phrases, printed in Korean with rough Russian transliterations on a weathered piece of paper Ukrainian troops said they took off a dead North Korean soldier this month, offer a remarkable insight into how Russia appears to have prepared their new allies to take Ukrainian prisoners during their assaults on the front lines.

Ukrainian troops are using such documents and other items they have recovered from the battlefield to better understand the thousands of North Korean troops that have been assaulting their positions in recent weeks, in the latest global escalation in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The items and Ukrainian soldiers’ accounts of encounters with North Korean forces paint a picture of the secretive North Korean troops — whose existence has not been confirmed by Russia or North Korea — as highly motivated, organized, well-trained and better equipped than Russian infantry, even as they suffer heavy casualties.

Soldiers (from left to right) Dmytro, Volodymyr, Vitalii and Viktor from Ukraine’s 8th Special Operations Forces Regiment, 1st Battalion, stand in their base on Wednesday in the Sumy region of Ukraine.
Rolls of razor wire are seen on the road leading to Ukraine’s border crossing with Ukrainian-controlled Russia on Wednesday in the Sumy region of Ukraine.

Ukraine appears increasingly eager to gather evidence of North Korea’s growing role in the war as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. Trump, who met several times with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his last presidential term, has pledged to end the conflict.

The retrieved items are especially important because of how hard it has been for Ukrainian troops to capture and question North Koreans in the course of the fighting. Unlike many Russian troops, who Ukrainian soldiers say will often surrender willingly, the North Koreans have fought until their deaths or killed themselves with grenades to evade capture.

Ukrainian special forces troops showed Washington Post reporters the list of 23 Korean and Russian phrases, along with handwritten New Year’s letters attributed to Kim, as well as body armor, equipment, first aid kits, military IDs, a shovel, a Ukrainian-made knife and two modern Russian assault rifles retrieved in recent weeks from dead North Korean troops.

 

Vlad, 31, a member of the 1st Battalion of Ukraine’s 8th Special Operations Forces Regiment, the unit that showed the gear and documents to The Post, said Russia appears to have followed a “best for the guest” mentality when preparing their allies for battle.

“The Russians were much more poorly equipped,” he said. “The Russians tried to show off for the North Koreans.” Like other Ukrainian soldiers quoted in this article, he spoke on the condition that only his first name be used, in keeping with Ukrainian military rules.

A Russian AK-12 rifle found on a North Korean soldier in Russia’s Kursk region.
A backpack and shovel found on a North Korean soldier in Russia’s Kursk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this month that as many as 4,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded in recent weeks, with only two captured alive. Both men were wounded and transferred to custody in Kyiv, where Zelensky said they are being interrogated and treated for their injuries.

North Korean attacks have thus far been contained to the small enclave in the western Russian region of Kursk that Ukrainian troops have controlled since August last year. In recent days, after weeks of relentless assaults, North Korean troops have hardly appeared on the battlefield, Ukrainian troops say, even as Russian assaults continue.

Their sudden absence could signal they are regrouping and assessing future moves, or could be a reflection of widespread injuries and exhaustion after recent attacks.

“They are licking their wounds,” said Vitalii, 25, another soldier in the special forces battalion who spent eight hours locked in a firefight with North Korean troops last month.

The two handwritten pages relaying messages from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were dated from Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The documents were independently translated by The Post.

The origins of the letters, which shared New Year wishes and thanked the troops for fighting on behalf of their motherland, were not clear. They may have been sent to the troops from Pyongyang or written down by North Korean soldiers who listened to their commanders read the messages from Kim out loud.

“You experienced heartbreaking sacrifices and the joys of costly battle victories, many noble combat experiences, the priceless feeling of genuine camaraderie and patriotism, all so far away from the motherland,” one of the messages read. “I don’t even know how I can find the words to properly encourage and express gratitude for your dedication and tireless efforts.”

“I really miss you comrades,” the letter read.

A handwritten letter with a message from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, found on a North Korean soldier in Russia’s Kursk region and photographed on Tuesday in the Sumy region of Ukraine.

A separate small booklet found on a soldier last week was filled with handwritten lyrics to patriotic North Korean songs. “My fate is always shared with the motherland,” one of the lyrics read.

That the soldiers carried those messages in their pockets while on missions suggested to the Ukrainian troops that they are significantly more ideologically motivated than Russian soldiers, who are often fighting on contracts for large salaries.

When North Korean troops first appeared on the battlefield last month, Ukrainian soldiers were stunned by how they moved in large groups and did not even attempt to hide from Ukrainian drones. Many were easily killed in those initial waves, but in ensuing battles, the new arrivals proved to be combat-ready, physically fit and skilled marksmen, the Ukrainians said.

 

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SOURCE: www.thewashingtonpost.com

 

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