No evidence of North Korean troops on Ukrainian territory – Pentagon

The Pentagon has found no evidence that North Korean troops are present in Ukraine, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh stated during a briefing in Washington.

Singh confirmed that North Korean forces are stationed in Russia’s Kursk Oblast but clarified there is no indication of their deployment to Ukrainian territory.

When asked about reports of 500 North Korean soldiers killed in a Ukrainian strike in Kursk Oblast, Singh said the U.S. could not independently verify these claims.

"We can't independently confirm casualties of North Korean soldiers. What we've said before is that they're in that region and certainly poised to engage the Ukrainians in combat. But I can't confirm those reports that there have been casualties yet," said the spokesperson.

On November 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia had transferred approximately 11,000 North Korean troops to Kursk Oblast.

On November 23, Global Defense Corp reported that a Ukrainian strike killed 500 North Korean troops and a Russian general in the area.

At the same time, the Ukrainian General Staff confirmed a loss of 500 square kilometers of territory in Kursk Oblast as of November 22. 

Zelenskyy later stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Ukrainian forces to be pushed out of the region by January 20, 2025, ahead of the U.S. presidential inauguration.