Editor’s note: The following article is an opinion piece by Benjamin R. Young, a researcher and analyst of North Korea and U.S.-East Asia relations. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

When describing North Korean attacks in Kursk in late December, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby referred to their use of “human wave tactics” to launch “massed dismounted assaults” on Ukrainian forces. He also called the troops “highly indoctrinated” and dismissed them as fanatical zealots who learn little from combat.

Ukraine has similarly insisted that the DPRK