North Korean Troops in Ukraine

We reported last year in the coming of North Korean troops to Ukraine.

But how is that going?

As Hanna Arhirov argued in an AP piece published on 12 January 2025:

One Ukrainian soldier who has witnessed North Koreans in battle described them as disciplined and highly methodical, saying they were more professional than their Russian counterparts. The soldier spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sensitive military issue….

“For the first time in decades, the North Korean army is gaining real military experience,” said Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. “This is a global challenge — not just for Ukraine and Europe, but for the entire world.”

And in Wall Street Journal article published on 11 January 2025, the comments of a deceased North Korean soldier killed in the war were highlighted which were taken from his diary:

The crude stick-figure diagram, sketched in blue ink, details how North Korean soldiers deployed to support Russia in the Ukraine war should respond to the approach of a Ukrainian drone. One soldier—referred to as “bait” in the drawing—should stand still to lure the drone so that a pair of comrades can attempt to shoot it down.

The grisly tactics were divulged in a diary taken off a slain North Korean soldier on Dec. 21, with passages containing mundane details of life at the front, descriptions of combat tactics and expressions of love for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to excerpts recently made public by Ukraine’s special-operations forces. Independent experts say the diary entries appear genuine, with penmanship, word choice and expressions of ideological fervor all common in North Korea. 
The young soldier who penned the passage about the drone died in a firefight alongside two other compatriots, according to Ukraine’s special forces. 

The Wall Street Journal published a video highlighting the “grisly tactics” which can seen below: