NYT: Putin prepares "Korean wave" to displace the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Kursk region.

Ukraine is preparing for an attack involving North Korean troops who have arrived in Russia's Kursk region.

This is reported by The New York Times, citing officials and military experts.

According to the publication, several thousand North Korean military personnel are already present in the region. They are part of a larger contingent of up to 10,000 individuals, which North Korea plans to deploy on the Russian side of the front, according to authorities in Kyiv and Seoul.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops in the Kursk region, calling it a "dangerous expansion" of the war.

"I expect that as their numbers grow, their impact will be noticeable in the progress of the stable Russian counteroffensive," said John Forman, former British military attaché in Moscow and Kyiv.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, North Korean troops are expected to start combat operations early this week. Deputy Commander of Ukraine's 61st Mechanized Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Artem Kholodkevich confirmed to NYT that the command has warned of a possible attack in the coming days.

The publication reports unique details of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' preparations: the Ukrainian army has issued Ukrainian-Korean phrasebooks to the military to address North Korean soldiers with calls to surrender.

According to Ukrainian military intelligence, Russia plans to appoint one translator for every 30 North Korean soldiers to improve coordination with Russian troops on the battlefield.

Military experts interviewed by NYT note that although 10,000 troops are too few to affect the overall situation on a wide battlefield, where both sides have deployed hundreds of thousands of soldiers, this may be enough to help Moscow regain its territory in the Kursk region.

Attack Strategy

Victor Kevlyuk from Kyiv's Center for Defense Strategies expects that North Korean troops will be used in assaults on Ukrainian positions, following the long-standing Russian strategy of overwhelming the opponent with waves of ground attacks: "North Korean units will assault the most fortified positions of the Ukrainians, while regular Russian troops will consolidate the captured objects and lines."

According to Kyiv, Russia has deployed approximately 50,000 military personnel in the Kursk region. Independent military analysis suggests that Ukraine has deployed about 30,000 soldiers there. An additional 10,000 North Korean troops may allow Russia to outweigh Ukrainian forces, experts believe.

John Forman suggests that the North Koreans might instead "remain in defense and strengthen the front line," freeing up Russian soldiers for offensive operations. If they are used for direct attacks, "the Russians will doubt the reliability of North Korean forces, and their use might endanger Russian troops."