North Korean losses in Ukraine reaches 3,000 soldiers, says Zelenskyy

On 23 December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the number of North Korean troops killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk Oblast has exceeded 3,000 soldiers.

On 16 December, US National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby first confirmed that North Korean forces were actively engaged in combat operations in Kursk Oblast.

At a meeting of Ukraine’s highest military leadership, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, spoke about the situation in the Kursk Oblast, noting that there are risks that North Korea would send even more soldiers and military equipment to support Russia.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine will prepare “substantial responses” to the increase in the North Korean military contingent in Russia.

“It is important for the world to understand: the risk of destabilization around the Korean Peninsula and in the neighboring regions and waters increases proportionally with the growing cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. The transfer of modern warfare experience and the spread of military technologies from Russia is a global threat,” he added.

According to the Wall Street Journal reports, North Korea has significantly expanded its weapons supply and production capabilities to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. The journalists cited satellite imagery and official sources.

The imagery showed rapid expansion of missile manufacturing facilities, including new construction at a plant on North Korea’s eastern coast that produces Hwasong-11 class missiles, dubbed KN-23 and KN-24 in the West. Russia uses them to target Ukrainian cities.

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