British defense estimates cite "highly attritional" ground assaults as the primary cause of the high number of injured and dead among the North Korean troops. In spite of the heavy losses, more soldiers have continued to pour in to bolster the Russian campaign.

Reinforcements Dispatched as Military Cooperation Blooms
After the losses, North Korea dispatched another 3,000 troops to Russia services during January and February this year, highlighting increasingly closer military cooperation. This cooperation involves trade of North Korean artillery, missiles, and manpower for Russian oil and state-of-the-art weapons technology-- including advanced ballistic missile systems.

Ukrainian Progress, Russian Counterattack
The standoff escalated when Ukraine conducted a cross-border strike against the Kursk oblast in August 2024. It was this first incursion of foreign troops onto Russian territory since the end of World War II. The offensive was designed to distract Russian forces from eastern Ukraine, particularly the Donbas region. Russia's counteroffensive turned Ukrainian forces back from large parts of the territory they had seized in late March 2025.