Ukrainian Forces kill North Korean Special Forces commander in Kursk region: weapons, maps, and documents seized
A North Korean officer, who led an offensive on the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Russia's Kursk region, was reportedly found killed on the battlefield with a map highlighting key local points. Experts are now set to decipher the diary, which has made its way into Ukrainian hands. This comes after North Korean units, stationed in the Kursk area, launched an attack on the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) positions near Mala Loknia.
These soldiers carried loads weighing up to 10 kilograms, consisting of weapons and extra ammunition magazines, as they advanced. Thanks to the decisive actions of the AFU, not a single North Korean soldier returned from the fortified lines, including their company commander and several other officers. In a detailed exposé on his YouTube channel, military journalist and editor-in-chief of "Censor.net" Yuriy Butusov unveiled the items found with the North Korean commander and narrated the sequence of the battle.
The footage demonstrates how Butusov was permitted to inspect the deceased North Korean officer who was killed during the clashes in the Kursk region.
The journalist, referring to this inspection as an "unboxing," reveals several possessions uncovered during the search, emphasizing the broader significance. Notably, the briefing emphasizes the successful neutralization of a company commander who possessed communication devices and weaponry. The event transpired in the Mala Loknia region, elucidated in the video, highlighting the zone engaged by the AFU's 22nd Brigade. North Korean forces came perilously close to the positions held by the 1st Mechanized Battalion of the 22nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, remaining "completely there until the very last Korean." Butusov emphasized, "This isn't just any soldier; this is a company commander from the North Korean special forces tasked to capture Ukrainian positions at Mala Loknia, located in Kursk."
Items recovered from the DPRK company commander include:
- Documents – Russian Armed Forces' military ID, indicating rank as company commander and a lieutenant colonel from military unit 02492 (based in Russia's Amur Oblast). The name appears as Ayaty [unreadable] Kolodzinsky, described by Butusov as cover documents.
- A diary penned in Korean.
- Boots reinforced with metal plates.
- Two rifles ("Vepr-12," AK-12) with ammunition.
- A radio and extra power supply unit for the radio.
- A map pinpointing key locations and coordinates.
The video offers a detailed view of the map discovered in the North Korean soldier's pocket, delineating the terrain with critical points and geographical coordinates 51° 20′ 34.24″ N, 35° 12′ 32.66″ E. These coordinates lie 700 meters from the battle lines at Mala Loknia, marked on maps used by DeepState analysts.
The New York Times earlier reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's pplans to dispatch additional reinforcements. Pyongyang's decision arises from significant losses experienced in confrontation with the AFU, necessitating the urgent replenishment of their troops.
Furthermore, on January 26, Forbes provided an analytical account of the combat between the AFU and Russian forces in the Kursk district, positing significant casualties among Russian and potentially North Korean troops.