Nearly 600 N. Korean soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine, Seoul claims
Some 600 North Korean soldiers are believed to have been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday, adding that more than 4,000 North Korean soldiers have been also wounded.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) gave the assessment during a closed-door briefing for the National Assembly's intelligence committee, two days after North Korea confirmed for the first time that Pyongyang has deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow's war against Ukraine, News.Az reports, citing Yonhap.
North Korea has sent about 15,000 troops to Russia and there have been some 4,700 casualties, including about 600 deaths, the NIS told lawmakers, according to Reps. Lee Seong-kweun of the People Power Party and Kim Byung-kee of the Democratic Party.
North Korea has deployed its troops to Russia over two phases, and fighting has decreased since April after Moscow took back most areas of its front-line region of Kursk, the lawmakers quoted the NIS as saying.
The spy agency has yet to detect signs of another troop deployment by North Korea but did not rule out its possibility, they said.
In January, the NIS told lawmakers that at least 300 North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia had been killed, with some 2,700 others injured.
On Monday, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it has deployed troops to Russia after Russia's top general also made the confirmation in video talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday.
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