North Korean killed in Russia wrote of 'sacred duty' to fight for Kim Jong Un

LONDON -- Ukrainian special forces have released several excerpts from a diary purportedly found on a North Korean soldier killed during front-line fighting in Russia's western Kursk region, with entries shedding light on the ideology and tactics of the recent arrivals from Pyongyang.

The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces branch has been disseminating information on its social media accounts about North Koreans soldiers it claims have been killed on the front line in recent weeks.

Much has been taken from a diary attributed to Pvt. Gyeong Hong Jong, who Ukrainian authorities said was a member of a North Korean special forces unit.

In the first entry translated, the notebook's author wished a comrade a happy birthday on Dec. 9. Ukrainian special forces released a purported photo of the killed author on Dec. 24, and additional translated excerpts in the days since.

The entries -- which ABC News could not independently verify -- appear to shed light on both the ideological motivations of Pyongyang's troops and the costly battlefield lessons they have learned in recent weeks fighting in Kursk.

Gyeong Hong Jong's diary contained instructions -- along with sketches -- for avoiding front-line Ukrainian drones and artillery. Stopping the former required using a comrade as live bait, he suggested.

"When detecting a drone, you need to create a trio (three people), while the one who lures the drone keeps a distance of 7 meters, and those who shoot -- 10-12 meters," he wrote.

"If the one who is luring stands still, the drone will also stop its movement. At this moment, the one who is shooting will eliminate" the drone, Gyeong Hong Jong suggested.

To escape artillery, Gyeong Hong Jong said, troops should disperse into small groups and try to escape the dangerous area. He also suggested that troops "can hide at the point of [previous] hit" to avoid additional incoming rounds.

The entries appear to have a significant personal element. "I grew up in the bosom of a blessed party, studied to my heart's content without worrying about anything in this world," Gyeong Hong Jong is alleged to have written.

"There is more unknown love than known and accepted," he said. "I didn't know how to react to the happiness that surrounded me."

"Since defending the fatherland is a sacred duty of a citizen and the greatest duty is defending the fatherland, which is the source of all my happiness, I put on the military uniform of the revolution for the sake of protecting the Supreme Commander," he wrote.

Promoted to the rank of sergeant major in his company, Gyeong Hong Jong said he later "betrayed my own party" and "committed ungrateful acts against the Supreme Commander."

"The sins I committed are unforgivable, but my homeland has given me a path to rebirth, to a new start in life," he continued. "Now I have no choice but to return the trust I had. I will go to the front line of this operation."

"I will unconditionally carry out the orders of the Supreme Commander Kim Jong Un, even if it costs me my life," he continued. "I will show the whole world the invincible courage and sacrifice of Kim Jong Un's Red Special Forces (Red Commanders)."

"When we win the war and return to our homeland, I will submit a petition to the party," Gyeong Hong Jong added.

U.S., Ukrainian and South Korean officials have estimated there are between 10,000 and 12,000 North Korean troops currently deployed to Russia, primarily assigned to Moscow's efforts to eject Ukrainian forces from positions in the Kursk region taken there in a surprise August 2024 cross-border offensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this month that more than 3,000 North Koreans have been killed or wounded in Kursk since joining the fight.

Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow have announced that North Korean troops have been deployed, nor have they confirmed the deaths of North Korean soldiers in Kursk.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Friday that Russia is using the North Koreans in "massed dismounted assaults."

"These human wave tactics that we're seeing haven't really been all that effective," Kirby said during a briefing. "We assess that they've resulted in heavy casualties for these North Korean forces," with an estimated 1,000 killed or wounded in the past week, Kirby said.

Kirby said the U.S. had received reports of North Korean soldiers killing themselves to avoid capture by Ukrainian forces, "likely out of fear of reprisal against their families in North Korea."

"It remains deeply troubling that Putin has decided to use foreign troops on Russian soil to defend that soil, which is a historic move that hasn't been done for decades," Kirby said. "I hope they're loading up their commanders with a bunch of body bags, because they're clearly going to need them."