North Korean troops sent to Russia have not yet joined the battle against Ukrainian forces partly due to poor training, say western officials.
In a sign of close ties between Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, thousands of soldiers from the DPRK pariah state have been deployed to Russia for its war against Ukraine.
The North Korean troops are expected to be used to reinforce Putin’s military seeking to recapture a swathe of the Kursk region of Russia which was seized by Ukrainian forces in a surprise attack in the summer.
But despite reports that they were already involved in fighting, western officials believe that they are yet to have been sent into battle.
“We say due to poor training and lack of logistical support as the primary reasons why DPRK haven’t started the fight yet,” said one official.
The North Korean troops are expected to take up secondary positions currently held by Russian soldiers so more of the latter can be deployed for frontline attacks.
The western officials doubt that the DPRK soldiers will be deployed into eastern Ukraine where the vast bulk of the fighting is taking place.
Joe Biden authorised Kyiv to fire long range missiles supplied by the US, and Britain, to strike at targets inside Russia following the deployment of North Korean troops to support Putin’s military which is also getting backing from Iran.
The Russian military has for most of the war outgunned Kyiv’s army, and still does in many ways.
But the western officials now say the artillery ratio is one to one point five, Ukraine versus Russia, in fires across the frontline after the West stepped up supplies.
At times the ratio has reportedly been 13 to one in Russia’s favour.
However, Russia is said to be having a devastating impact in Ukraine with its wave of “glide bomb” attacks.
More than 700,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since Putin launched his war in February 2022, according to reports, with very high casualties among Ukrainian forces as well.
Ukraine is struggling to replace is loss of soldiers, while Russia is succeeding, albeit with difficulties, having to ramp up the signing on bonus to three million roubles in some parts of the country, according to the officials, with prisons emptied to fill the military ranks.
“It’s true that the Russians are able to replace the casualties that they have lost,” said one official.
“It has to be said that the quality of the replacements are very poor and the training is absolutely minimal.”
Putin is believed to have shied away from a new mobilisation, which could have helped to seize back the Kursk land, partly because of the political costs, but also the economic ones and the risk of another wave of young men fleeing Russia, he added.
