North Korean troops suffer over 6,000 casualties in Ukraine War: UK intelligence

North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine have suffered more than 6,000 casualties, according to British Defence intelligence. This number represents more than half of the over 11,000 North Korean troops deployed to the Kursk region in Russia.

The UK Ministry of Defence shared on its official X account on Sunday: "Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) forces have highly likely sustained more than 6,000 casualties in offensive combat operations against Ukrainian forces in twhe Russian oblast of Kursk. The total casualties amount to more than half of the approximately 11,000 DPRK troops initially deployed to the Kursk region. Open-source reports suggest DPRK has subsequently deployed limited numbers of additional troops to Kursk. Significant DPRK casualty rates have almost certainly been sustained primarily through large, highly attritional dismounted assaults."

"On 04 June 2025, Russian Security Council Secretary and ex-Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reportedly visited DPRK for a meeting with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, his second in less than three months. Shoigu has highly likely been a key interlocutor with DPRK regarding DPRK's support to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine," it added.

"DPRK operations have thus far been confined to the Kursk region. Any decision to deploy into internationally recognised, sovereign Ukrainian territory in support of Russian forces would almost certainly require sign-off from both Russia's President Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un. The total casualties represent over 50% of the North Korean troops originally deployed. Open sources suggest that North Korea has sent a small number of extra soldiers to support their forces in the region," the statement said.

NORTH KOREA WILL ALWAYS STAND WITH RUSSIA, KIM TELLS PUTIN

Earlier this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country will always stand with Moscow, state media reported.

In a message for Russia Day, a patriotic holiday celebrating Russia's independence, Kim called Putin his "dearest comrade" and praised their bilateral relations as a "genuine relationship between comrades-in-arms," KCNA reported.

"It is an unshakable will of the government of the DPRK and of my own steadfastly to carry on the DPRK-Russia relations," Kim was quoted as saying.

With inputs from Reuters