• Ukrainian forces have fought against North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region.

• A Ukrainian commander described to BI what it was like to face them in combat.

• He said the North Koreans would charge forward like something out of a movie and were “cannon fodder.”

North Korean soldiers who fought in Russia were treated as “cannon fodder,” a Ukrainian commander who went into battle against them told Business Insider.

Konoval Ihor Ihorovych, commander of the reserve group of the 4th Company of the 33rd Assault Regiment, said North Korean behavior in battle was at times confusing and reminiscent of past wars. He said they appeared insufficiently trained for this war.

Around 11,000 North Korean troops were deployed to Russia’s western Kursk region last fall to help Moscow repel enemy forces and recapture territory that Ukraine had seized after it launched a stunning invasion there in August.