• Ukrainian forces have attacked North Korean forces in Russia’s Kursk region, marking a new phase in the war.
• A Ukrainian official said the troops were wearing Russian uniforms and had been hit by an artillery strike.
• He said there had been daily fighting around Ukrainian-occupied Sudja since the first attack.

A Ukrainian official gave Business Insider more details about the first clashes between Ukrainian and North Korean forces in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a cross-border counteroffensive in August.

Andrii Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Combating Disinformation, said Monday that “the first North Korean troops are already under fire in the Kursk Oblast.”

This was later confirmed by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who called it a “small commitment.” Rustem said the skirmish was a decisive signal that North Korea had joined the conflict.

In comments to BI, Kovalenko provided more details about the attack.

“It was an ordinary battle in the Kursk region,” he said, describing how Ukrainian forces conduct reconnaissance, identify enemy positions and launch attacks.

He said Ukrainian forces knew that North Korean troops dressed in Russian uniforms were distributed among several Russian army units in the region for training under combat conditions.

“An artillery attack was launched on a position where Russian and North Korean soldiers were located,” he said.

Kovalenko added that it was not an isolated incident.

He said there was now “daily fighting” in the area around Sudja, a Ukrainian-occupied city at the center of its push into the region.

“Of course, shelling of the positions takes place on a daily basis,” he said.

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that North Korean soldiers – according to Ukraine 11,000 – had already suffered losses in Kursk.

Kovalenko said the North Koreans received “a few weeks” of training before being sent to combat positions.

He said they “posed a serious threat that requires additional resources from our armed forces.”

He also said some received training in the use of reconnaissance and attack drones, skills that pose a future risk to South Korea.

Once back in North Korea, they could use their new drone know-how “for future terrorist actions in the border areas with South Korea,” he said.

BI could not independently confirm Kovalenko’s story.

In recent weeks, Ukrainian intelligence has shared details about the military equipment that Russia says it has issued to North Koreans, including mortars, rifles, machine guns and anti-tank missiles.

North Korea experts told BI that the military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang was a win-win situation for both countries. But on a practical level, they also discussed the logistical problems of combining two armies.

This includes the circumstances under which the troops are likely to work together – including language issues, racism from some Russian troops, as well as close supervision from North Korean officials to ensure they do not desert.

Ukrainian intelligence also recently shared what it said was intercepted audio of Russian soldiers discussing the coming Korean troops in a conversation that suggested a chaotic start for North Koreans joining Russia’s fight.