US Says Putin Treating North Korean Troops As 'Expendable' Amid Mass Casualties The White House has said Moscow is treating its North Korean partner forces as "expendable" in its war against Ukraine, and following South Korean and Pentagon intelligence assessments which say North Korea has suffered at least 1,100 casualties so far National Security communications adviser John Kirby said in a Friday press briefing, "It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses.