The Kursk front and the secret soldiers of North Korea

At dusk one afternoon last month, two dozen wounded North Korean soldiers were brought to one of the main hospitals in the Russian city of Kursk.

- By Pjotr Sauer

They were ushered into a specially designated floor, guarded by police, with access limited to translators and medical personnel.

"We were told in the morning to prepare for a special type of patient," said one of the medical staff at the hospital who treated North Koreans.

"We'd heard rumours that North Koreans were fighting there, but I didn't believe it. No one had actually seen them before. I thought it was all fake news until they arrived," the medic said, adding that most of them had shrapnel injuries.

A second medic at the scene said communication with the North Koreans was "impossible" without translators. They added that some North Koreans looked "frightened and nervous". Both medics requested to speak on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution for discussing the topic.

The arrival of the North Korean patients marked a rare moment of interaction between locals in the Kursk region and North Korean soldiers, whose presence remains shrouded in secrecy.

Up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to assist Russia in the war, according to US and South Korean officials. Most of these forces have been involved in a counteroffensive to reclaim swathes of Russian land in the Kursk region, a territory Ukraine has held since last summer.

Russia has not officially acknowledged the deployment of North Korean soldiers. During his annual press conference last month, president Vladimir Putin listed by name several units active in the fighting in the Kursk region but conspicuously avoided any mention of the North Koreans.

Early signs suggest North Korean troops may be suffering heavy casualties. Last week, South Korean military officials reported that more than 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded since their deployment alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.