North Korean troops appear to have temporarily pulled back from the frontline in Russia after suffering heavy losses, a Ukrainian special forces commander has told Sky News.

The commander, who goes by the codename “Puls”, said Kim Jong Un‘s men were likely either learning lessons from mistakes made during their first, bloody clashes with Ukrainian soldiers, tending to their wounded or waiting for reinforcements.

“I think they’ll be back soon,” he said, speaking at a secret base in northeastern Ukraine.

Interviews with several Ukrainian troops reveal remarkable details about how the North Koreans have been fighting since they arrived on the battlefield in the Russian region of Kursk last month. This includes:

• An apparent initial lack of awareness about the threats from drones and artillery, with North Korean soldiers attacking on foot “like something out of World War Two” in groups of 20, 40 or even 60 men, making themselves easy targets

• “Brainwashing” which means they keep pushing forward despite being under Ukrainian fire and with comrades being killed and wounded around them

• A desire to remove evidence of their presence from the warzone, with North Koreans in white helmets spotted trying to recover the wounded and the dead

• A refusal to be taken alive, with claims that North Koreans have been seen blowing themselves up with grenades rather than risk capture. Puls even claimed a North Korean has been heard shouting “For General Kim Jong Un” before killing himself

• Poor coordination between North Korean and Russian forces because of the language barrier. One soldier claimed radio intercepts revealed North Koreans accidentally targeted Russian positions. He also said they would storm Ukrainian positions, suffering losses, but Russian troops would then fail to exploit the gains

• Better kit than many Russians, including rifles and uniform, but a lack of heavy armour, with North Koreans only moving on foot and using golf buggies to transport ammunition.

“They were all clean-shaven and perfectly groomed, like models,” said Puls.

“Every single one – no beards, unkempt hair, or bald heads… It was also hard to determine their age. They all looked between 25 and 35, maybe up to 40.”

North Korean troop deployment not officially confirmed

Ukraine and its Western allies say Pyongyang has sent 11,000 troops to join Russia’s war, focusing on bolstering infantry lines in the Kursk region where Ukrainian troops captured swathes of territory in a daring invasion last August.

Neither Kim Jong-Un nor Vladimir Putin have officially confirmed the deployment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed last week that some 4,000 North Korean soldiers have already been killed or injured.

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Puls commands the 1st Combat Divers Battalion of Special Operations Forces.

His elite commandos were tasked with capturing DNA samples and documents from a unit of about 25 North Korean soldiers who were killed in a drone and artillery barrage about a fortnight ago inside Kursk.

Body camera footage from the mission has been shared with Sky News. Edited clips have also been posted on social media.

Forensic samples taken

Ukrainian soldiers can be seen carefully sticking cottonwool buds into the mouths of dead North Korean troops to take samples of saliva and place them in an evidence bag.

They then remove the troops’ helmets, cutting clumps of hair and bagging them as well.

In addition, body armour is cut away so the Ukrainians can more easily access the documents and other items on each soldier, including military identity cards, dog tags, handwritten notes and photographs.

‘North Koreans only had ammo and chocolate’

One of Puls’s men, who took part in the operation and goes by the codename “Trainer”, said he was surprised that the North Koreans only had ammunition and chocolate as supplies to sustain them in the fight.

“Not a single soldier had a water bottle,” he said.

“They rely on the idea that they will storm through, take positions, and then eat and survive off our supplies.”

Asked what personal belongings he found, Trainer said: “There were letters. Of course, there were notebooks, notes. There were hand-drawn maps… There were photos of children, mothers, letters they tried to send home.”

The military identity cards were Russian – a seemingly clumsy attempt to hide the true ethnicity of the soldiers.

Trainer said some of the notes appeared to be of soldiers’ experiences in battle. He said it seemed as though they were trying to learn from their exposure to modern warfare.

“It’s the experience they are accumulating for their country, for conflicts they might face in the future,” he said.

North Koreans ‘more disciplined’

Puls described how the North Koreans fought differently from the Russians.

“They are far more disciplined, with exceptional morale and determination – completely brainwashed, really,” he said.

Puls said about a fortnight ago he noticed the North Koreans pulling back.

“The Russians are standing, working everywhere along the frontline, but no Koreans,” he said.

“Either they’re analysing their mistakes, or tending to their wounds, or maybe they’re waiting for reinforcements. There’s talk that Kim Jong-Un is sending more North Koreans here. That’s the situation.”

He said intercepted Russian communications appeared to indicate they would be returning.

“They’re still present, training or waiting for reinforcements. Something is happening, they’ll be back soon.”

Congolese rebels say they have “taken” the key city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The leader of a rebel alliance that includes the M23 group reiterated on Sunday that government forces had until 3am to surrender their weapons.

It comes after 13 soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces in the DRC were killed in clashes with the rebels, United Nations officials said.

Congolese rebels and allied Rwandan forces entered the key eastern city of Goma on Sunday and the airport is no longer in use, according to the DRC’s top UN official.

“M23 and Rwandan forces penetrated Munigi quarter in the outskirts of Goma city, causing mass panic and flight amongst the population,” said the UN’s special representative in the DRC, Bintu Keita, to an emergency UN meeting on Sunday.

The strategic city of Goma has a population of about two million people and is a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.

Eyewitness: Sky News team in DRC attacked as civilians flee

The M23 is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army more than a decade ago.

It’s one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region, where a long-running conflict has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

In recent weeks, it has made significant territorial gains.

The DRC has accused neighbouring Rwanda of fuelling the M23 rebellion and has now severed diplomatic ties with it.

Rwanda has denied the claims but last year admitted it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo to safeguard its security, pointing to a build-up of Congolese forces near the border.

“Rwanda is trying to get in by all means, but we are holding firm,” a Congolese military source told the Reuters news agency on Sunday.

“It is war, there are losses everywhere… the population must remain calm, we are fighting,” they added.

The DRC has recalled its diplomats from Rwanda and asked Rwandan authorities to cease diplomatic and consular activities in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa.

A UN Security Council meeting to discuss the escalating violence was scheduled for Monday but was brought forward to Sunday.

During that meeting, France and the UK pressured Rwanda over its role in the conflict.

France called for Rwanda to withdraw its troops from Congo territory, while Britain called for an end to attacks on peacekeepers by M23 rebels receiving support from Rwanda.

It comes after a Congolese military governor was killed while on the frontline during a M23 offensive on Friday.

On Saturday, the Congolese army said it foiled an M23 offensive towards Goma with the help of its allied forces, including UN troops and soldiers from the Southern African Development Community Mission, also known as SAMIDRC.

The burning wreckage of a white armoured fighting vehicle carrying UN markings could be seen on a road between Goma and Sake.

South Africa said nine of its peacekeepers had been killed amid the surge in fighting during the last few days.

Three Malawians and a Uruguayan were also killed, the UN said.

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Decades of conflicts in the eastern DRC between rival armed groups over land and resources, and attacks on civilians, have killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than seven million.

Militias also include the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

The UN peacekeeping force entered the DRC more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 soldiers on the ground.

Hundreds of displaced Congolese marched down a sloping road in northeast Goma with their lives on their backs.

Mothers with mattresses strapped to them dragged their toddlers alongside and trucks brimmed with bodies and belongings.

Many of them have been displaced more than once, as the violent insurgency waged by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels against the Congolese army spread furiously in 2024.

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It reached new heights in recent weeks as they seized control of large swathes of territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and now, are advancing on the regional capital Goma.

The humanitarian hub is marked for capture by M23 with dozens of diplomats and non-essential United Nations (UN) staff evacuated by planes, cars and ferries.

As they leave, 250,000 of the most vulnerable Congolese pour into the city for safety.

We watched the movement near Goma’s Kihisi roundabout as hordes of civilians walked in the middle of the road with experience and urgency.

As we stopped to mark their plight, a small crowd stopped to stare at us.

Reports were circling that Rwandan troops had crossed the border into Goma just 5km from where we were standing – an invasion later confirmed by the UN top official in the DRC, Bintu Keita.

As we pressed record, a man with rageful red eyes pointed at me and yelled violently. We were attacked as we tried to escape.

Our colleague translated the intent fuelling the mob once we got to safety – they thought I was Rwandan.

That frenzy gives a small glimpse into the communal-level tribal hostility that has fuelled this 30-year conflict – a hangover from the notoriously violent Rwandan genocide.

The panicked civil unrest in that neighbourhood has not quelled in the hours since news spread of M23 moving in.

UN staff still in Goma have been told to stay indoors and there is increasing concern for civilians here as evidence looms of M23 atrocities in areas of their control.

“We know that M23 has been using the local population to transport their ammunition, like in [recently captured] Minova, and this is not the first time,” one aid worker told us on condition of anonymity.

We spoke to an M23 spokesman Manzi Ngaramble from our hotel in Goma and he confirmed that they are moving in to capture the city to “protect the people”.

“I cannot tell you how soon M23 will capture Goma but I can tell you this: Goma will never be the same again.”

When M23 previously captured Goma in 2012, peace was quickly brokered and the rebels retreated.

Now, Rwandan involvement has made this a regional, diplomatic crisis.

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A UN security council meeting due to be held on Monday was expedited to Sunday – echoing calls for de-escalation and protection of civilians as Goma hangs in the balance.

Troops from the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) – the UN’s biggest peacekeeping mission – have been told to pull into the city and lock in place, after days of fighting on Goma’s outskirts led to at least 13 peacekeepers killed and 50 injured.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is “deeply concerned by the escalation of violence”, calling on the Rwandan Defence Forces to stop supporting M23 and to withdraw from the territory of the DRC.

As diplomats and humanitarians scramble to neutralise an explosion that is decades in the making, Goma’s future looks dark.

The hundreds of thousands of civilians who sought safety here are caught in a rabid frenzy of fear, rage and uncertainty.