The Biden administration has pledged to approve new military aid to Ukraine in the coming days, including vital air defense systems, as North Korean forces face mounting casualties in their first major deployment in a European conflict.
John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, told reporters on Friday that in the past week alone, North Korean forces had suffered more than 1,000 casualties in what he described as failed “human wave” attacks near the Kursk border region, confirming similar numbers reported by South Korea.
According to Kirby, there are also reports of North Korean soldiers committing suicide rather than surrendering.
“The human wave tactics we’ve been seeing really haven’t been that effective,” Kirby said. “Military leaders in Russia and North Korea treat these forces as expendable and order them to launch hopeless attacks against Ukrainian defenses.”
Kirby said the promised US security aid package is expected to be announced “in the next couple of days,” although it is unclear when that will happen and how much it will include.
The aid increase comes weeks after meeting with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, pledged in Washington extensive support, including the scheduled delivery of hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, thousands of missiles and hundreds of armored vehicles by mid-January.
This package also included training for new Ukrainian forces in locations outside the country and finalizing $20 billion in loans backed by frozen Russian assets.
The accelerated aid packages come as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to become the country’s commander-in-chief next month. Trump has signaled a stark departure from current US policy on Ukraine, including his own team Developing a peace proposal This would sideline Ukraine’s NATO membership ambitions and potentially cede territory to Russia.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he can end the conflict Within 24 hours Without providing many details.
North Korea’s deployment comes in the wake of the joint defense agreement signed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, at a summit held in Pyongyang last June.
It is estimated that up to 12 thousand North Korean soldiers They were deployed to support Russian forces in Ukraine, according to previous tallies by US and South Korean officials.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed North Korean casualties in the Kursk region. has exceeded 3000Although this number cannot be independently verified.
The participation of North Korean forces follows extensive material support from Pyongyang, which has reportedly sent more than 10,000 containers of artillery shells and other military equipment to Russia.
South Korean military officials say North Korea is using the conflict in Ukraine to modernize its warfare capabilities, raising concerns about growing military threats on the Korean Peninsula.
