Seoul: Around 2,000 North Korean Troops Killed While Fighting for Russia in Ukraine

Nearly 2,000 North Korean soldiers deployed to support Russia in its war against Ukraine are estimated to have been killed, South Korea’s intelligence agency said on Tuesday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) had earlier, in April, reported that at least 600 North Korean troops had died in combat. However, the latest assessment now places the death toll closer to 2,000, according to lawmaker Lee Seong-kwon, who was briefed by the agency before speaking to reporters.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies believe that Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia in 2024. Most were deployed in the Kursk region, where they operated artillery, missiles, and long-range rocket systems.

According to Lee, Pyongyang is planning to send an additional 6,000 soldiers and engineers to Russia, with about 1,000 already believed to have arrived. “Of the recently planned third deployment of 6,000 troops, around 1,000 combat engineers are thought to have already entered Russia,” Lee said.

Earlier this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also confirmed that North Korea would dispatch construction workers and explosives experts to the Kursk region.

In April, Pyongyang admitted for the first time that it had sent troops to support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and confirmed that some of its soldiers had been killed in combat.

Since then, leader Kim Jong Un has met families of fallen troops, offering condolences for their “unbearable pain.” State media released images of Kim embracing returning soldiers, some seen weeping against his chest. Other images showed Kim kneeling before a photo of a fallen soldier, with medals and flowers placed beside it.

Russia and North Korea signed a military cooperation pact, including a mutual defense clause, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rare visit to Pyongyang last year.

Source: RSS/AFP