BBC reports on this, citing its own sources.
The total losses among soldiers from North Korea reach 4,000 — this figure includes those killed, wounded, missing, and captured. The publication notes that such a level of losses is quite high.
BBC states that it is currently unclear where the wounded North Korean soldiers are receiving treatment. It is also unknown when and to what extent they will be replaced.
In October 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had received information about Russia preparing two units of North Korean soldiers, each consisting of 6,000 personnel. As of January, Zelensky reported that 4,000 soldiers from North Korea had been neutralized in the Kursk region.
Ukrainian military personnel report that North Korean soldiers do not want to surrender, opting to take their comrades with them or commit suicide if faced with the threat of capture. They also do not take captives — Ukrainian soldiers who attempted to surrender were killed.
In Russia, efforts are being made to conceal the involvement of North Koreans in combat operations. According to the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine, in official documents they were recorded as Tuvians. Zelensky also stated that there were instances of faces being burned to prevent identification of the bodies.