Since October, when thousands of North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia to fight on the country’s side against Ukraine, many have been waiting for photo evidence that they were deployed in the fighting.
Images of North Koreans in Russia have previously surfaced, but not of them in combat in the Kursk region, where they are said to have concentrated to push the Ukrainians back across the border.
On Monday, President Zelenskyy published a clip said to show North Korean soldiers in full combat uniform in Kursk. A few words are exchanged between a Russian speaker and an alleged North Korean soldier, but it is not possible to determine the person’s origin based on the conversation, according to a Korean-speaking assessor SVT Nyheter spoke to.
– They can put on a face mask, says a Russian-speaking person out of the picture, to which the person filming answers in Russian:
– Nobody recognizes them here anyway.
There is snow on the ground, but it is not clear when it was filmed.
“There have been attempts to keep the soldiers from North Korea’s presence a secret. When they were trained, they were forbidden to show their faces. The Russian military tried to erase all video evidence,” Zelensky writes.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian military personnel published another clip of alleged North Koreans in Kursk. Drone footage is said to show both Russian and North Korean soldiers lying dead in a row, covered in snow. But it is impossible to determine if any of the dead are from North Korea.
USA: May have taken losses
The US and South Korea have previously confirmed that North Korean forces have been sent to Russia. On Monday, the Pentagon said they believe they have been deployed and that there are currently indications that these forces suffered losses in Kursk.
This after Zelenskyj recently claimed that a “significant number” of North Korean soldiers were deployed in the battles by Russia. At least 30 are said to have been killed and injured, according to Military Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
They have also stated that the language is an insurmountable problem for the Russians and North Koreans. The latter are also said to have opened fire on their own side’s forces in Kursk on an unspecified occasion, according to Ukraine, which has not presented any evidence for the claim.