Andrei Kolesnik, a member of the Defense Committee of the Russian State Duma, said in an interview with Lenta.ru on Tuesday (local time) that North Korean special forces soldiers are assisting Russia in operations in order to gain actual combat experience. Recently, a well-known Russian military blogger said that North Korean soldiers had withstood the "baptism of blood and fire" and swept through vast minefields like a hurricane.
Korean People's Army special operations forces fighters participate in training
Russian military blogger: North Korean soldiers have been 'baptized with blood and fire'
A Russian military blogger who called himself "Colonel Kasad" said that North Korean soldiers are used to fighting in small units and have high combat literacy, once taking a village in 2.5 hours quickly through a minefield, causing about 300 combat casualties to the Ukrainian army.
The National Resistance Center, run by the Ukrainian military, had previously argued that it was difficult for North Korean soldiers to be integrated into frontline units to fight alongside Russian troops because of the huge differences in language and culture. However, Ukrainian President Zelensky said earlier this month that North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in the battle, which also indicates that North Korean special forces soldiers have been involved in the front line of direct combat.
"Colonel Cassard" recently posted a video on the "Telegram" platform, showing Russian soldiers in the same truck with North Korean soldiers, moving in the given direction. "Colonel Kasad" also recounted the experience of the battle in which North Korean soldiers recaptured the village of Prekhovo in the Kursk region. "Our brothers have withstood blood and fire, and that is enough to make their leaders proud," he said.
Romanov, another prominent Russian military blogger, said the battle for Plekhovo lasted 2.5 hours and that North Korean soldiers, skilled in maneuvering operations, "swept through it like a hurricane" despite the Ukrainian army laying out a vast minefield outside the village.
The U.S. think tank "Center for War Studies" reported on the 12th of this month that satellite images and other data showed that the Russian army did make rapid progress in the direction of Prekhovo on the 11th, but they could not confirm the extent of the involvement of North Korean soldiers in the battle.
"Romanov" also said he had spoken to some Russian soldiers on the front line, and everyone was impressed by the "training" of the North Korean soldiers. "You give them [North Korean soldiers] any weapon and they learn to use it right away, including some heavy weapons that we find very sophisticated."
U.S. Department of Defense report: North Korean special forces specialize in fast-moving infiltration operations
North Korean soldier
Andriy Chernyak, a spokesman for Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Service, said recently that the North Korean soldiers sent to the Russian battlefield were led by three generals, and some soldiers were embedded in the Russian army's ground and airborne units to fight alongside Russian soldiers. Some Russian military bloggers have analyzed that the Russian 11th Air Assault Brigade may "carry" a North Korean special forces unit to fight together, but the North Korean soldiers have their own separate call letters and are not completely mixed with Russian soldiers. The analysis was not confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry.
The U.S. Department of Defense report believes that the North Korean special forces are the "best-trained, best-fed and best-equipped" elite troops of the entire People's Army, good at fast-mobile infiltration operations, and often "fast forward and fast out" deep behind enemy lines.
Bruce Bennett, a senior fellow at the Rand Corporation think tank, said that although there are significant obstacles for North Korean soldiers to learn Russian and specialized military vocabulary, North Korean special forces are very familiar with the operational thinking of the current Russian military system, and they are adept at striking behind enemy lines quickly in small units. This allows the North Korean special forces on the battlefield of Russia and Ukraine to play a greater role on their own.