North Korean military forces are unable to enhance their combat capabilities as Russian command employs them for large-scale assaults, reports the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in an analytical report dated January 11.
The ISW cites information from The Washington Post, which reported on January 11 that North Koreans fighting in the Kursk region are attacking in large groups with the support of Russian artillery and drones, unlike Russian troops who typically operate in smaller units. North Korean soldiers also disregard Ukrainian drones and continue to advance despite drone strikes on their personnel.
As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview with Lex Fridman that North Korea's casualties in the war with Ukraine amount to 3,800 soldiers killed and wounded, which represents about a third of the registered 12,000 North Korean troops in the Kursk region.
"ISW continues to assess that North Korea's ability to learn from and apply lessons from combat alongside Russian forces is likely to be significantly diminished if Russian military command uses North Korean troops for extremely grueling infantry assaults on par with or larger than those conducted with most Russian personnel," ISW analysts conclude.