Western officials have claimed that a senior North Korean general was recently wounded in a Ukrainian strike on Russia's Kursk region. 

Details are scant, but the incident was vaguely described to The Wall Street Journal, which wrote, "It is the first time Western officials have said that a high-ranking North Korean military officer has become a casualty in the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict."

"Western officials didn’t disclose how the senior North Korean officer was wounded or his identity," WSJ continued. "North Korea’s mission to the United Nations didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike, which has been described in Western intelligence reports."

Illustrative file image: AFP

Recent international reports have separately alleged that thousands of North Korean troops are in Kursk region assisting Russian efforts to repel occupying Ukrainian troops, which have held hundreds of square kilometers of territory since the August cross-border incursion.

Last month, spokesman for the US National Security Council John Kirby warned that any North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine are "fair game and fair targets."

The US and UK (and more recently France) have authorized Ukraine to strike Russian territory using long-range weapons, citing as a rationale for the escalation the infusion of North Korean troops and foreign fighters into the Russian side.

If it is accurate that a high-ranking North Korean officer was hurt in recent attacks on Russia, could it have been the result of sophisticated long-range Western missiles?

The WSJ report cites a Russian blogger who says North Koreans were present at a location which was struck by Storm Shadows days ago:

The Storm Shadows launched Wednesday struck an estate in Marino, a town in the Russian-controlled part of the Kursk region, according to videos geolocated by the Center for Information Resilience, an online investigation organization, that were verified by The Wall Street Journal. Marino is about 20 miles from the front lines in the province.

The estate contains vast gardens and an underground area with domed ceilings lined with bricks and is run by the Russian government, according to its official website. Loud whooshes followed by thunderous explosions that set off car alarms could be heard on video taken by bystanders and shared on social media.

Recent reports have also alleged that in return for sending troops, Russia has rewarded Pyongyang with new anti-air defense missile systems, along with other weaponry.

Some hawkish officials in Europe are using the reports of N.Korea-Russia cooperation to urge limitless support for Kiev:

“If you clapped for Orbán two weeks ago, you are now on North Korea’s side.”

My speech on frozen Russian assets.

Ukraine must win. Russia must pay. Orbán must go. pic.twitter.com/BUsDxCt2jc

— Damian Boeselager (@d_boeselager) October 22, 2024

Presidents Putin and Kim Jong-Un signed a joint defense pact this summer. The Kremlin has thus sought to present the transfer of North Korean troops into Russia (and possibly into Ukraine) as consistent with this legal agreement.