Russia war: Why North Korean Storm Corps are easy prey for Ukrainian drones, rockets in Kursk explained

Ukraine and South Korea have released contradicting data on the setbacks suffered by the North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in the Kursk region. While Seoul claimed that at least 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or seriously injured by Ukrainian forces, Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims his defenders have eliminated or wounded around 3,000 North Koreans to date. 

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A week earlier, South Korea’s spy agency claimed that at least 100 North Korean soldiers had died ever since they were deployed on the frontlines in Kursk in December. The steep increase in the casualties -- irrespective of the count being 1,000 or 3,000 -- is proving the concerns of many conflict experts right who pointed out that Kim Jong-un's men may end up being cannon fodder in Russian woods. Despite being one of the largest standing armies in the world, North Korean soldiers lack battleground expertise as the dictatorial regime has not fought any wars in years.

There are no battlegrounds in North Korea!

War drills can't make troops ready for "real action" and Russia failed to provide its Pyongang recruits with proper, meaningful training ahead of deployment. Then comes the language barrier, which affects effective communication between the Russians and Koreans, reports have said. 

Though highly motivated, the North Koreans are almost ignorant of modern warfare. Most of the casualties were inflicted by Ukrainian drones. Missiles and training accidents have also claimed their lives in the forests of Kursk with at least one General among the killed, The Guardian said in a report.

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Earlier, reports suggested that North Korean units took on the Ukrainian guerilla fighters in waves, an outdated battle strategy. When they scrambled and took cover, drones were deployed to pick them out easily, with the Asian troops having little to no idea how to remain undetected from the UAVs. 

Russian forces have understood these shortcomings of their allies and are using them to lead first-wave attacks instead of collaborations. Russian Generals have learned their lesson and no longer want to put the lives of their men at risk by sending them alongside their lesser-trained "friends."

US media reports had earlier claimed that apart from brief combat training, North Korean troops were also taught basic Russian vocabulary for frontline communication. "Charge", "retreat", "move", "spread out" and the like were among the words taught before sending them ahead. Some other reports had said that Pyongyang's Storm Corps were mostly operating machinery and digging trenches in the areas witnessing fierce battles. 

Russia-North Korea defense tie-up

It is estimated that Kim Jong-Un sent around 12,000 of his elite soldiers to help Vladimir Putin's war efforts in Kursk.

They arrived with more than 10,000 containers of artillery rounds, anti-tank rockets, howitzers and rocket launchers, US agencies believe. Kim will not hesitate to send or deploy more men from his Storm Corps to Russia, although the first contingent is yet to make any significant impact on the battlefields, the Pentagon added.