Overview

• British Ministry of Defence reports that over 6,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured, amounting to more than half of the approximately 11,000 initially deployed in the Kursk region.
• South Korea’s military assesses that Pyongyang sent about 3,000 additional troops this year, bringing its total force in the area to roughly 14,000.
• UK intelligence notes that North Korean operations remain confined to the Kursk front and have not expanded into Ukrainian sovereign territory.
• Any deployment of DPRK troops into internationally recognized Ukrainian land would require explicit approval from both Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.
• The casualty figures follow Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu’s June 4 visit to Pyongyang, highlighting deepening military cooperation between Moscow and North Korea.