AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Ukraine has claimed for weeks that thousands of North Korean soldiers are fighting on the side of Russia in this nearly three-year war. In interviews with NPR, Ukrainian soldiers who have fought them said the North Koreans are well-trained and fearless but have suffered large casualties. Those losses may have forced them to pull back from the front line for now. We're joined by NPR's Joanna Kakissis, who is in Northeastern Ukraine speaking to Ukrainian troops.
And a note, NPR is identifying soldiers by their first names at the request of the Ukrainian military. Good morning, Joanna.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: Can you start by telling us where this fighting is happening?
KAKISSIS: Sure. It's actually in a part of Western Russia called the Kursk region. Ukrainians captured part of this Russian region in a surprise offensive last summer. And it's believed that they want to hold onto this land so they can use it as leverage to get back their own territory and free POWs. Russians have not been able to dislodge the Ukrainians from this part of Russia, but they have made some progress in recapturing territory recently, thanks in part to about 11,000 North Korean soldiers brought in to fight with the Russians. But here's the catch. Neither Russia nor North Korea has acknowledged that North Korean troops are fighting in this war.
RASCOE: Wow, OK. So North Korea and Russia have denied that this is happening. But how did Ukraine confirm that these soldiers were indeed North Korean?
KAKISSIS: The Ukrainian soldiers we spoke to - and we spoke to almost a dozen of them - they said the North Koreans did wear Russian military uniforms, and this aligns with social media posts we've seen in Russia showing the North Korean soldiers being issued Russian gear. The Ukrainians heard them shouting in a language that wasn't Russian. On the bodies of these soldiers, they found what appeared to be a letter in Korean from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. And they also noticed that their Russian-issued military IDs were signed in Korean. A Ukrainian special operations soldier named Vlad told us about one case.
VLAD: Those particular guy, I think, his name was Lee, and it said his full real name in Korean. So he basically wrote his name, and Russian didn't realize this.
KAKISSIS: Also the Ukrainians say they captured two soldiers alive, and they have shown videos of the POWs speaking in Korean.
RASCOE: What did the Ukrainians tell you about how these soldiers fight on the front line?
KAKISSIS: Well, Ayesha, they were described as fast, agile, and well trained with artillery. But they appeared not to have much experience with drones. They didn't seem to realize the danger. One special forces soldier, Oleksandr, told us about one wounded North Korean soldier found in an intense firefight.
OLEKSANDR: (Through interpreter) He had lost a lot of blood. He was semi-conscious. Our medic did what he could, and then we had no choice. We had to keep fighting. We hoped he would survive.
KAKISSIS: That North Korean soldier did not make it, but two others were later captured alive, as I mentioned earlier.
RASCOE: So where do things stand now on the front line?
KAKISSIS: Well, Russian forces are pushing forward, taking more Ukrainian land in the East, and they have managed to retake part of Kursk. However, a Ukrainian military spokesman says Russia has pulled North Korean troops from parts of the Kursk front line after they suffered these huge losses, at least 1,000 dead. Vlad, the special forces soldier, we heard from earlier, expects them to return.
VLAD: Yeah. We just anticipate anywhere they will appear again, to be prepared for the next assault. Usually, Russians are not very successful. Only things that help them at the moment is basically North Koreans.
KAKISSIS: So Vlad told me that they are preparing to face the North Korean soldiers again, and they are even learning a few short Korean phrases so they can address them directly.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Joanna Kakissis. Thank you, Joanna.
KAKISSIS: You're welcome, Ayesha. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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