17, citing a senior U.S. military official.The official did not give an exact figure but said the high casualty rate was in part due to the soldiers' lack of battle experience.Russia has reportedly deployed over 10,000 North Korean troops to help oust Ukrainian troops fighting in Kursk Oblast since early August.The full extent of North Korean losses is hard to ascertain, as President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is trying to hide the casualties.Ukraine's Special Operation Forces said that they had killed 50 North Korean soldiers in Kursk Oblast in three days and injured 47 more.Despite the losses within Russian and North Korean ranks, the Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Kursk Oblast seem to be increasingly on the back foot, facing a Russian advantage in manpower and equipment.Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Dec.