North Korean troops not seen for 3 weeks in parts of Kursk Oblast, Ukraine’s Special Forces say

Editor’s note: The story is being updated.

North Korean troops have not been seen for roughly three weeks in the areas of Kursk Oblast where Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) are fighting, the unit’s spokesperson, Colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, told the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 31.

The comment comes as undisclosed Ukrainian and U.S. officials told The New York Times that North Korean troops had been taken off the front lines after suffering heavy casualties.

“These are standard measures – rotation due to large casualties,” a military intelligence source commented for the Kyiv Independent, confirming the reports.

Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Jan. 19 that roughly half of the 11-12,000 strong North Korean contingent deployed to the embattled Russian region have been killed or wounded.