Deputy commander of the 8th Air Assault Corps, Colonel Pavlo Rozlach, told LB.ua that North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia in Kursk Region impressed with their physical fitness.
According to him, Ukrainians underestimated this opponent.
“It’s worth admitting: we underestimated them. We thought they’d be thin, small soldiers, fighting there for two bowls of rice. Instead, they were highly trained servicemen. This is an army with its own hierarchy and commanders. You can’t compare them to mercenaries from, say, Africa. Moreover, in Kursk it wasn’t just ordinary Korean troops, but special operations forces — the elite. I hope their regular army isn’t trained like this. They were 26–27 years old, with 7–8 years of military service. Their physical fitness was incredible,” Rozlach said.
He explained that they learn to fight quickly, even though they currently lag behind other countries technologically.
“This will be a terrifying force. I don’t want to scare anyone, but if they develop technologically, everyone will feel it. And they learn fast. Their first assaults were clumsy and massed: a signal rocket toward our positions — and 200 Koreans ran forward. As a result, they suffered heavy losses, so later they moved in groups of 20, 10, 5. They quickly figure out how to do it properly. Now they’re using drones. The civilized world needs to be ready for this,” the colonel noted.
For context, North Korean troops continue to participate in Russia’s war against Ukraine on Russia’s side. The DPRK contingent is stationed in Kursk Region of Russia and shells border communities in Ukraine.