On Thursday, Ukraine attacked Russia in the occupied part of the Donetsk region.
A total of 20 soldiers are said to have died in the attack – six of them were officers from North Korea, the Kyiv Post reports.
Three more North Korean soldiers are said to have been injured in the attack.
Intelligence sources states for Kyiv Post that the North Korean soldiers were in the Donetsk region to meet Russian soldiers for training purposes.
Among other things, the Russians are said to have demonstrated attack and defense techniques before the Ukrainian robot struck.
20 dead and several injured
A total of 20 soldiers are said to have died in the Ukrainian attack and several were injured. According to the information, six of them were North Korean officers.
The Ukrainian military intelligence service, GUR, says several North Korean soldiers arrived in Ukraine last year, including engineering troops. The soldiers from North Korea are said to be part of the solution to fill the need for soldiers in the Russian army.
Promised to send troops to Russia
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has strengthened its ties to North Korea. In exchange, Russia has received, among other things, thousands of containers of weapons sent to it, including millions of artillery shells.
Analyzes have identified how North Korean ballistic robots, among other things, were used in attacks on Kyiv during the summer
Russia and North Korea also signed a defense pact during Putin’s state visit to North Korea this summer. The agreement means, among other things, that the countries must support each other with armed forces in war. North Korea also announced that during the summer it would send troops to support Russia in the occupied parts of the Donetsk region.
“A new heyday” for the relationship
The increasingly isolated countries’ relationship was also strengthened in connection with a state visit that Kim Jong Un made to eastern Russia last year. Kim Jong Un rarely leaves his homeland and from the North Korean side it was described as “a new era of greatness” for the relationship.
During the week-long visit, Kim Jong Un was, among other things, in the port city of Vladivostok, where he met the then Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu. Russian bombers, robots and warships were on display for the North Korean dictator.
Kim Jong Un also met Vladimir Putin during the visit, who gave him drones and a bulletproof vest as gifts.