Seoul says 300 North Korean soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine
Around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 injured while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker says, citing information from Seoul’s spy agency.
Seoul has previously claimed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent more than 10,000 soldiers as “cannon fodder” to help Moscow fight Kyiv, in return for Russian technical assistance for Pyongyang’s heavily sanctioned weapons and satellite programs.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had captured two North Korean soldiers, releasing video of the injured combatants being interrogated and raising the possibility of a prisoner swap for captured Ukrainian troops.
“The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia has reportedly expanded to include the Kursk region, with estimates suggesting that casualties among North Korean forces have surpassed 3,000,” lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun tells reporters after a briefing from the spy agency.
This includes “approximately 300 deaths and 2,700 injuries,” Lee says, after a briefing from Seoul’s National Intelligence Service.
The soldiers, reportedly from North Korea’s elite Storm Corps, have been ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, Lee says.
“Notably, memos found on deceased soldiers indicate that the North Korean authorities pressured them to commit suicide or self-detonate before capture,” he says.
He adds that some of the soldiers had been granted “amnesty” or wanted to join the Workers’ Party of North Korea, hoping to improve their lot by fighting.
One North Korean soldier who was about to be captured shouted “General Kim Jong Un” and attempted to detonate a grenade, Lee says, adding that he was shot and killed.
The NIS analysis also revealed that the North Korean soldiers have “a lack of understanding of modern warfare,” and are being used by Russia in a manner leading to “the high number of casualties,” the lawmaker says.