White House National Security communications adviser John Kirby said Russia was treating North Korean troops as “expendable” by sending them on impractical ground operations in its war against Ukraine.
“It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses,” Kirby said during a Friday press gaggle.
“These North Korean soldiers appear to be highly indoctrinated, pushing attacks even when it is clear that those attacks are futile,” he added.
He noted mass casualties and failed missions for North Korean soldiers, which has resulted in suicide on the battlefield.
“We also have reports of North Korean soldiers taking their own lives rather than surrendering to Ukrainian forces, likely out of fear of reprisal against their families in North Korea in the event that they’re captured,” Kirby stated.
His comments come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the capture of troops taken as prisoners of war, who died shortly after being seized.
“Today we received reports on several soldiers from North Korea, our warriors managed to capture them. But they were seriously wounded and could not be resuscitated,” Zelensky said in a Friday address.
“This is one of the manifestations of the madness dictatorships are capable of,” he stated. “The Korean nation should not lose its people in the battles in Europe.”
He urged China to exert pressure on Kim Jong Un and leaders in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital to, back off of war efforts.
Kirby cited widespread injuries among North Korean soldiers in the Friday press gaggle.
“Our estimate is that, to date, they have suffered more than 1,000 killed or wounded in this particular fighting in just the past week of them fighting on the front lines,” Kirby said.
