Ukrainian forces have destroyed a North Korean self-propelled howitzer on the eastern front in the nearly three-year war with Russia. This is what the Ukrainian army claims, quoted by "Reuters".
A statement from the Khortytsia group of forces states that for the first time since the beginning of the conflict, a North Korean M-1978 "Koksan" howitzer was hit by a Ukrainian drone.
"In the Luhansk region, fighters from the 412th separate regiment with "Nemesis" drones "they hit a very rare North Korean M-1978 self-propelled artillery mount with a 170 mm caliber gun," the group reported on Telegram.
The publication was accompanied by a video showing the explosion of a military target, and it was noted that the "Koksan" was first spotted in the war in October 2024.
North Korea's military aid to Russia includes about 200 long-range artillery pieces and a significant amount of ammunition, South Korea's Defense Ministry told a parliamentary committee last week.
Luhansk Oblast - mostly occupied by Russian forces - is one of four that Russia formally annexed in 2022, a move not recognized by Ukraine and its allies.
Ukrainian and Western military experts say up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed in the Kursk region in southern Russia alongside Russian forces, and have also reported the use of military equipment by Pyongyang.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Russia could send up to 3,000 more North Korean soldiers to the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces hold a portion of territory more for six months after launching a counteroffensive.
North Korean security agents are monitoring and controlling their country's troops in Kursk, telling them that South Korean military personnel are operating the drones that are attacking them, according to an interview with two North Korean prisoners of war captured in Ukraine.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry said today that Seoul will provide necessary protection and support in accordance with the basic principle of accepting all North Korean prisoners of war captured by Ukraine if they wish to go to South Korea.
South Korea has already informed Ukraine of its position.