The NATO admiral described North Korea's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine as a "strategic mistake."

The Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, has deemed the involvement of North Korean troops alongside Moscow in Russia's war against Ukraine as a "strategic mistake." This is primarily due to the low effectiveness of the North Korean army and high casualties.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine, citing the South Korean newspaper Chosun.

At a press conference following a meeting of defense ministers from NATO member countries in Brussels, the senior NATO official stated that "coordination between Russian and North Korean forces is virtually impossible."

According to him, about "one third of the approximately 11,000 North Korean troops sent to the Kursk region of Russia have been wounded or killed."

Bauer added that, in reality, North Korean soldiers are being used by Russia "in a not very effective manner," partly due to language barriers, lack of coordination, and their non-utilization by the Russian side in "very advantageous positions."

"North Korea openly supplies weapons to Russia, and Russia also provides weapons to North Korea. This creates a problem not only for South Korea but also for the United States, which has troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula," Admiral Bauer stated.

He expressed surprise that the "most isolated country in the world," North Korea, has suddenly become involved in a war in Europe. The NATO representative described the situation as a "huge change."

"This means that the Indo-Pacific region has now suddenly connected with the European theater in a way that no one thought would have huge consequences," the admiral said.

Furthermore, Bauer divided the responsibility for involving North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine between Moscow and Beijing.

"Especially considering that it is not just Russia, which needs ammunition and missiles, but also China that has made this fundamentally possible," the NATO admiral stated.

Bauer added that although China does not supply weapons directly to Russia, it "actively supports the Russian military-industrial complex."

In this context, the NATO representative emphasized the need for the alliance to provide a "unified strong response."

"NATO has clearly told China: 'You cannot have it both ways.' China cannot, on one hand, claim it wants to maintain good relations with the West and assert it supports the UN Charter while simultaneously continuing to fuel wars in Europe," Bauer stressed.

North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine suffer significant losses

Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview that Russia has lost up to a battalion of North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region within two days. The head of state clarified that "3,800 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded."

It is also worth noting that at the end of December 2024, the Pentagon stated they do not see significant effectiveness from the attacks of North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region amid reports of their substantial losses.

Additionally, on January 11, it became known that Ukrainian defenders captured two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region. They, among other things, reported significant losses among their contingent of North Korean soldiers.

In a report dated January 17, analysts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) estimated that North Korean troop losses amount to approximately 92 soldiers per day since they began participating in major battles in early December 2024.

According to ISW experts' forecasts, at the current rate of losses among North Korean troops in the Kursk region, the entire North Korean contingent could be killed or wounded in battles by mid-April 2025.