Americans and Ukrainians have not seen North Koreans at the front for 2 weeks — NYT

The North Korean military was withdrawn from the front line in the Kursk region due to heavy losses. It is reported by The New York Times with reference to Ukrainian and American officials.

North Korean military personnel participating in SMO have been withdrawn from the front line after heavy losses, Ukrainian and American officials say.

The North Koreans have not been seen at the front in the Kursk region for about two weeks, officials said.

"The arrival of about 11,000 North Korean troops in Russia in November caused alarm at Ukraine and among its allies in the West, who feared that their deployment signaled a significant escalation… But in just three months, the ranks of the North Koreans have halved, according to (Commander—in—chief of the Armed Forces. - EADaily) General Alexander Syrsky,"the newspaper writes.

According to the Ukrainian military, the North Koreans are "fierce" fighters, however, they say, disorganization in their ranks and lack of cohesion with Russian units quickly led to an increase in losses, a certain Ukrainian official said. Ukrainians — officials and military — assure that the North Koreans, they say, were abandoned to their fate, "moving forward with a small number of armored vehicles and rarely stopping to regroup or retreat." The authors of the article seriously assure that the Russians "sent North Koreans, among whom mainly cool commandos, in waves through fields dotted with mines, where they were destroyed by heavy Ukrainian fire."

The decision to withdraw North Korean troops from the front line is not final, US officials said. They believe that it is quite possible that the North Koreans will return after undergoing additional training or after the Russians come up with new ways to deploy them in order to avoid such heavy losses.