Casualties among North Koreans helping Russia “exceeded 3,000,” according to South Korean intelligence.
Some 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker said.
In addition to the 300 deaths, there are approximately “2,700 injured,” Lee Seong-kweun told reporters Monday, after a briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in Seoul.
“The deployment of North Korean troops in Russia is believed to have extended to the Kursk region, with estimates suggesting that casualties among North Korean forces may have exceeded 3,000,” Lee said.
The NIS analysis also found that North Korean soldiers have “a lack of understanding of modern warfare” and are being used by Russia in ways leading to “a high number of casualties,” the lawmaker added.
The South Korean politician’s statement comes days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said kyiv had captured two North Korean soldiers, releasing a video of the injured fighters being questioned.
Zelensky said kyiv was “ready to hand over” captured North Korean soldiers in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia.
Seoul has previously claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent more than 10,000 troops as “cannon fodder” to help Moscow fight kyiv, in exchange for Russian technical assistance for weapons and satellite programs heavily sanctioned by Pyongyang.
Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
No desire to defect
The NIS said the two captured soldiers had not expressed a request to desert or resettle in South Korea, according to two lawmakers present at Monday’s briefing.
The agency said it was ready to discuss the matter with Ukrainian authorities if the soldiers ultimately requested to go to South Korea.
About 34,000 North Koreans have defected to capitalist rival South Korea to avoid economic hardship and political repression at home, mostly since the late 1990s.
Koo Byoungsam, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry for inter-Korean affairs, said facilitating asylum for North Korean soldiers would require “legal reviews, including international law, and consultations with countries.” concerned”.
“There’s nothing we can say at this point,” Koo said.
Additionally, the soldiers, believed to belong to North Korea’s elite Storm Corps, were ordered to commit suicide rather than be taken prisoner, Lee said.
“Notably, memos found on deceased soldiers indicate that North Korean authorities pressured them to commit suicide or blow themselves up before being captured,” he said.
He said some soldiers had been granted “amnesty” or wanted to join North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, hoping to improve their lot by fighting.
A North Korean soldier who was about to be captured shouted “General Kim Jong Un” and tried to detonate a grenade, Lee said, adding that he was shot and killed.
