Fighting alongside Russia, North Koreans are waging their own war

North Korean soldiers fighting for Moscow in Russia’s Kursk region are being given their own plots of land to attack. Unlike their Russian counterparts, they advance with virtually no armored vehicles in support.

When they attack, they do not stop to regroup or retreat, as the Russians often do when they begin to suffer heavy losses, Ukrainian soldiers and U.S. officials say. Instead, they move under heavy fire across mine-studded fields and will send in a wave of 40 or more soldiers.

If they seize a position, they don’t try to secure it. They leave this to the Russian reinforcements, while they retreat and prepare for another assault.

They have also developed unique tactics and habits. When fighting a drone, the North Koreans send a soldier as a decoy so others can shoot it down. If seriously injured, they are instructed to detonate a grenade to avoid being captured alive, holding it under the neck with one hand on the pin as Ukrainian soldiers approach.

Sent to Russia to join Moscow’s troops in Kursk, the North Koreans operate essentially as a separate fighting force, Ukrainian soldiers and U.S. officials said — distinct in language, training and military culture.

“It’s partly about two different armies that have never trained or operated together and partly, I think, about Russian military culture, which is, let’s say, not very respectful of capabilities, standards and operations of partner forces,” said Celeste A. Wallander. , who until Inauguration Day was the Pentagon’s assistant secretary for international security affairs.