North Koreans guiding Russian strikes on Ukrainian troops in Sumy Oblast — General Staff

The North Koreans, operating from Russian territory, conduct reconnaissance with unmanned aerial vehicles to pinpoint Ukrainian Defense Forces positions in Sumy Oblast, then direct fire accordingly.

Ukrainian troops intercepted communications between the North Korean drone operators and Russian personnel, in which the soldiers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea corrected rocket artillery fire on Ukrainian positions.

The involvement of North Korean troops stems from Russia’s heavy personnel losses and the failure of its offensive in Sumy Oblast, the General Staff said.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine are documenting all confirmed instances of foreign units’ participation in the armed aggression. Units engaged in aggression against Ukraine will be neutralized in accordance with the laws and rules of war,” the military added.

North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine

In October 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had received intelligence on Russia preparing two North Korean units, each about 6,000 strong. By January, Zelenskyy reported that 4,000 North Korean soldiers had been neutralized in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

Ukrainian troops described North Korean soldiers as unwilling to surrender, preferring to retrieve fallen comrades or commit suicide when capture loomed. They also refused to take prisoners, killing Ukrainian fighters who sought to surrender.

Despite this, Ukrainian forces captured two North Korean soldiers named Ri and Baek, who later expressed interest in going to South Korea if they could not return home.

Russia tried to conceal the North Koreans’ role, listing them as ethnic Tuvans in documents, according to Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces. Zelenskyy said there were cases of faces being burned beyond recognition to hide identities.

Ultimately, both North Korea and Russia acknowledged the troops’ participation in the Kursk operation.