Language barrier hinders effective cooperation between North Koreans and Russians on battlefield – ISW

The lack of coordination and language barriers among North Korean and Russian troops in the Kursk region is resulting in significant issues on the battlefield. Incidents of friendly fire and communication challenges impede joint operations' success. Presently, the North Korean army is receiving additional reinforcement.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports this.

Ineffective communication complicates the coordination of combat operations, which is especially noticeable in conditions of intensive infantry attacks involving North Korean units.

According to ISW, such problems are systemic and will continue shortly, worsening the overall combat capability of the troops in the region.

"The language barrier significantly affects the effectiveness of interaction between North Korean and Russian forces, which leads to errors such as friendly fire and disrupts the overall coordination of operations," the ISW report says.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, North Korean troops mistakenly fired on vehicles of the Chechen special forces "Akhmat," which led to the death of Russian service members.

"The GUR reported that a contingent consisting of Russian and North Korean servicemen in the Kursk region lost 200 personnel as of December 14 and that Ukrainian drones swarmed a North Korean position, which is consistent with recent reports of North Korean forces engaging in attritional infantry assaults.

The poor integration and ongoing communication problems between Russian and North Korean forces will likely continue to cause friction in Russian military operations in Kursk Oblast in the near term," the report reads.

^{Bodies of North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region. Photo: Serhii Sternenko}

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, units of the DPRK army went to storm the positions of Ukraine's armed forces in the Kursk region. Due to losses, they are being replenished with fresh personnel.

According to Ukraine's intelligence report, on December 14 and 15, 2024, in the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, and Martynovka in the Kursk region of Russia, units of the North Korean army suffered heavy casualties. It is estimated that at least 30 soldiers were killed or injured.

Also, according to the GUR, at least three North Korean servicemen went missing in the area of ​​the village of Kurilovka.

"Due to the losses, the assault groups are being replenished with fresh personnel, particularly from the 94th separate brigade of the DPRK army, to continue active combat operations in the Kursk region," the report says.

Key conclusions:

• Russian forces conducted a roughly battalion-sized mechanized assault in the Siversk direction following a recently reported command change of the Russian forces operating near Siversk.
• The recent Siversk assault indicates that Russian forces appear to be learning to conduct more effective assaults but remain far from restoring maneuver to the battlefield.
• North Korean forces are reportedly facing expected struggles with high casualties and poor communication with Russian forces in the Kursk region, likely disrupting coordination between North Korean and Russian personnel and undermining Russian military operations.
• Russia's immediate plans for its military assets in Syria remain unclear as reports continue that Russia has secured agreements to keep its main military bases in western Syria while also withdrawing from its other bases in the country.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Siversk, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Vuhledar.
• Russian sources continue complaining about the Russian military's insufficient training system and inept military instructors.

The situation in the Kursk region remains tense. Over the past day, 57 battles took place on the Kursk front, and almost 300 clashes were recorded along the entire front line.

It is worth adding that experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) drew attention to evidence of Russian forces using North Korean soldiers in offensive operations against Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region. They indicate that such tactics can lead to significant depletion of the DPRK units and affect their ability to adapt to combat conditions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on December 14 that Russian troops are including North Korean soldiers in their units in the Kursk region, in particular to participate in infantry attacks. According to him, these soldiers have already suffered significant losses.