North Korea lost 1000 troops in a week, some committed suicide – Kirby
John Kirby (Photo by ERA / Samuel Corum)

1,000 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded in Kursk in the past week alone, with some reportedly committing suicide to avoid capture by Ukrainian forces, White House spokesperson John Kirby said during a briefing, according to Barron's.

Kirby noted that U.S. intelligence indicates North Korean forces are advancing on Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region, resulting in "heavy casualties."

"It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses <...> We also have reports of North Korean soldiers taking their own lives rather than surrendering to Ukrainian forces," Kirby said.