Is North Korea Now Directly Involved in Combat in Ukraine? General Injured in Airstrike

A high-ranking North Korean general deployed to the conflict in Ukraine was recently wounded in a Ukrainian airstrike in Russia’s Kursk region, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal, citing Western officials, provided this information but withheld specific details about the extent of the general’s injuries or his identity.

The strike targeted a Russian government facility in the village of Marino, approximately 20 miles from the front lines, using British-supplied Storm Shadow air-to-ground cruise missiles. This information was based on an analysis of footage from the UK-based Center for Information Resilience (CIR), a non-governmental organization.

The Wall Street Journal referenced a Russian blogger who claimed that several North Korean soldiers were present at the command post of this site, suggesting the North Korean general may have been injured in the attack. The Storm Shadow missile ranges about 155 miles (250 km).

The overall commander of the estimated 11,000 North Korean troops in Ukraine is believed to be Kim Yong Bok, Deputy Chief of Staff and former leader of the 11th Army Corps, a special forces unit known as the “Storm Corps.”

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated during the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Budapest, Hungary, on November 7 that some North Korean troops stationed in Kursk had engaged in combat, resulting in casualties.