North Korean Soldiers Struggle to Fight Drones, Says Ukrainian Military Commander in Interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun

By Hiroshi Uesugi and Kazusa Yoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

2:00 JST, February 28, 2025

KYIV/SEOUL — A commander with the Ukrainian military’s special operations forces in Russia’s western Kursk region said in an exclusive interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun that North Korean soldiers dispatched as auxiliary troops for the Russian military are highly motivated, but they struggle in fights against drones.

The commander, whose call sign is “Green,” suggested that the deployment of North Korean troops to Kursk may have allowed Russia’s forces to retake lost ground.

The combat experience gained by North Korean soldiers and use in real battles of weapons provided to Russia by North Korea has the potential to destabilize the East Asian security environment.

Korean War-style fighting

Commander Green, in the online interview on Feb. 19, described North Korean soldiers’ way of fighting when they first joined the conflict as resembling something from the “Soviet era or … Korean War era.”

When the North Korean soldiers found Ukrainian troops, they would disperse and speedily advance. Though they seemed to be trying to encircle the Ukrainian troops, they paid no heed to the drones flying over them.

Thus the North Koreans’ locations would be pinpointed, and the Ukrainian military would conduct precise attacks on them, causing them serious damage.

Some of the North Korean soldiers would throw away bullet-proof jackets and other gear to make themselves more agile.

However, the combat skills of the individual North Korean soldiers should not be underestimated, he said. “They are highly motivated, they are very strong there, very agile. Those are like three main criteria for the perfect soldier.”

Green suspects that Russian commanders are controlling multiple troop units comprising only North Korean soldiers.

He said that the North Korean soldiers obeyed even reckless orders and rushed forward as if they did not fear being killed.

Many of the North Korean soldiers killed themselves by detonating hand grenades next to their heads when it seemed they were about to be captured. Some of them shouted the name of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Signs of growing numbers

Ukrainian special operations forces captured two North Korean soldiers as prisoners of war on Jan. 9.

One of the North Korean POWs said in an interview with the Chosun Daily, a South Korean newspaper, that an official in the State Security Ministry, North Korea’s secret police, explained to the soldiers that all Ukrainian military drone operators were actually South Korean soldiers.

The newspaper said that this was untrue, but that the soldier believed it. It seems that Pyongyang seeks to boost soldiers’ motivation by convincing them that they are being sent to Russia to fight “a war against South Korea.”

The newspaper also reported that the dispatching of soldiers to Russia has not been publicized in North Korea and has been kept secret even from troops’ own families.

The captured North Korean soldier thought this was probably because it could damage North Korea’s foreign relations, the newspaper reported.

It is estimated that about 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been dispatched to Kursk since autumn last year, of which more than 4,000 have been killed or wounded.

Since the start of Ukraine’s cross-border offensive last August, its forces have occupied as much as about 1,300 square kilometers of the Kursk region, but more than half of that has now been reclaimed by Russia. It seems that the entry of North Korean soldiers into the conflict may have helped them retake this territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed alarm, saying signs pointed to 2,000-3,000 more North Korean soldiers being sent.

Expecting rewards

The reason why North Korea is willing to help Russia is that Pyongyang expects aid in military, scientific and technological fields.

The year 2025 is the last year of North Korea’s five-year plan for the development of national defense, which includes the goal of miniaturizing its nuclear weapons.

Development of military reconnaissance satellites is another part of the plan. Though North Korea had planned to launch three such satellites by the end of 2024, the launch of the first satellite failed in May 2024.

The South Korean government believes that after the failure, North Korea was provided with satellite-launching technology by Russia.

The Russian military has become increasingly dependent on North Korean-made artillery rounds and missiles to prosecute the Ukraine war.

On Feb. 11, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense identified the possibility that North Korea could receive technology related to intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear-powered submarines as rewards from Russia.

A source connected to the South Korean military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff unveiled in December last year that North Korea had conveyed to Russia its willingness to provide UAVs of its own making.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian special operations forces said that North Korean soldiers are constantly learning, gaining the kind of combat experience that only two countries in the world have — Ukraine and Russia — and that they are continuing to acquire the skills of modern warfare, such as those connected to using UAVs.

The spokesperson indicated a view that North Korea’s military power after having gained real combat experience will raise security threat levels in East Asia and other regions.

Russia: Almost an alliance

Russia is placing increasing importance on its ties with North Korea.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko, who is in charge of Asian affairs for the ministry, said in an interview with the Interfax news agency on Feb. 10 that the relationship between the two countries has reached the same level as an alliance. He indicated that the relationship had been upgraded to a de facto military alliance.

This was done based on the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty which was signed at a Russia-North Korea summit in June last year. Stipulations in the treaty include military aid when either of the two countries is invaded.

Rudenko expressed the view that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to resolve the Korean Peninsula affairs through diplomacy by politicians. He also insisted that all concerned parties should aim for a realistic outcome which can satisfy all of them.

He emphasized that North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons is a legitimate right of the country.

When the treaty was signed, Russian President Vladimir Putin avoided the word “alliance.” In late June, Putin said that having North Korean soldiers dispatched into Russian territory would be unnecessary.

But in October, Putin no longer ruled out the possibility, saying it was Russia’s decision how to implement it based on the treaty.

Rudenko’s remarks this time can be interpreted as reflecting a change of course. It seems that Putin places importance on North Korea’s provision of weapons and soldiers to support the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

According to Rudenko, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is scheduled to visit Russia. The visit will likely be made by the end of this year.

It is also a focus of attention whether Kim will attend victory day celebrations commemorating the Soviet Union winning its war against Nazi Germany, to be held in Moscow on May 9.

High-ranking Russian and North Korean officials have been increasingly active in visiting each other’s countries. It is very possible that the relationship between Russia and North Korea will further deepen.