Ukrainian war correspondent Yuriy Butusov published a video showcasing the equipment of a lieutenant colonel from North Korea who was killed during the fighting in the Kursk region. The Ukrainian correspondent considers the equipment found with the military officer as evidence of the Koreans being well-prepared for combat.

The AK-12 represents the fifth-generation of the legendary Avtomat Kalashnikova assault rifle series. Although Russia ostensibly ceased to be a communist country with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union that also ended the Cold War,

Soldiers from North Korea fighting on behalf of Moscow have reportedly pulled back from the frontline in Russia's Kursk region.