Putin has announced the complete liberation of Kursk with the last Ukrainian elements eliminated or driven from the internationally recognized Russian region of Kursk.

‘Not a single North Korean violated his oath’: How our allies helped us liberate Kursk

Pyongyang’s troops showed discipline, coordination and disregard for death, contributing greatly to the defeat of Ukrainian invaders

Until this moment, Russia had neither confirmed nor denied the presence of DPRK (North Korean) troops on the front line. Strictly speaking, we were not obligated to notify anyone about it. This is a matter of bilateral relations and agreements. Meanwhile, North Korean units gradually began to arrive in Russia during the Kursk campaign.

At first, they underwent training at military ranges, familiarizing themselves with modern combat tactics, mastering drone operation skills, and adapting to field realities. Then, the “combat Buryats,” as our military jokingly and covertly called them, were transferred to the Kursk region. They lived in field conditions to avoid attracting attention. Initially, they held the third line of defense, then the second, and eventually, they were tested in fortifications and, finally, in assaults.

Korean soldiers distinguished themselves by their coordination, discipline, a fatalist disregard for death, and remarkable endurance. Understandably so – they were mostly young, strong, well-built men, decently trained back home, particularly the units from the Special Operations Forces. They made a significant contribution to the liberation of the Korenevsky District, fought in battles near Staraya and Novaya Sorochina, and broke through to Kurilovka.

They had a strict rule – never to be captured alive, and never to surrender voluntarily.

Incidentally, the enemy tried to persuade them to do just that by dropping counterfeit DPRK banknotes, bearing inscriptions in Korean that read: “Surrender! Kim Jong-un has driven you to death and starved your families. Place a yellow flag before you, raise your hands, and loudly shout ‘Freedom!’ Then slowly walk toward the Ukrainian soldiers and follow their instructions.”

Not a single Korean soldier violated his oath or allied commitments. For Pyongyang, it was crucial to gain experience in modern warfare, study the tactics and technologies of a potential enemy (“the collective West”), and acquire knowledge that had been inaccessible due to sanctions. These objectives were achieved. Moreover, under the framework of a comprehensive bilateral agreement, the Koreans made a substantial contribution to the defeat of the Ukrainian forces on our soil.

Their arrival allowed us to maintain pressure on other sections of the front, continue the offensive in the Donbass, and inflict enormous damage on the invasion force, which consisted of 95 (!) battalions.

Coverage: https://www.rt.com/news/616375-north-korea-kursk-russia/

https://www.rt.com/russia/616373-north-koreans-liberate-kursk/

https://www.rt.com/russia/616360-kursk-region-liberation-putin-recap/

So as expected DPRK troops did not enter into territory previously recognized as being part of Ukraine, they merely participated in fighting within historical Russian borders in a defensive capacity. Hence all claimed “captures” of Koreans by Ukraine are fabrications likely involving Russian minorities from the east.

I hope the lessons they learned from their combat are taken back and widely shared and discussed to better prepare and harden the DPRK against any future attacks by the imperialist US.

    • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml
      15·
      1 day ago

      Believability aside, i don’t know if i’d call it stupid. I think it’s a very good idea for DPRK soldiers to gain real combat experience against essentially a NATO armed and trained army. Honestly i wish China was doing it too.

      • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.ml
        11·
        1 day ago

        Exactly, there’s really no substitute for actual combat. Now, these soldiers will be able to bring their experience back and drastically improve the quality of the army. Incidentally, it’s also what Russia did once Wagner got disbanded. They put the experienced fighters from it into different units which allowed disseminating their valuable skills across the whole army.

    • darkcalling@lemmygrad.mlOP
      21·
      2 days ago

      Why not? Russia never denied the accusations only repeated that the matter of troops from partner nations like the DPRK was an internal matter. After all Ukraine had troops from US, UK, France, Poland, Germany, all kinds of western paid mercenaries, as well as special forces soldiers in or out of uniform but acting under orders operating equipment, etc operating there and that was considered fair by the west and not a sign of them engaging in a direct war against Russia so this is more than fair on the part of Russia and the DPRK.

      We know for a fact DPRK troops were in Russia and training with Russians and have for many months. We know Russia and the DPRK signed a mutual defense treaty and the DPRK decided to honor it in the present conflict (a wise move in that it would leave Russia in a tougher spot after the DPRK helped them if Russia were to balk if the US attacked the DPRK in future).