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Western officials estimate that North Korea has sent at least 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow as both countries boosted their military ties in the face of US-imposed sanctions.
Zelenskyy claimed Russia was burning the faces of fallen North Korean soldiers to prevent their identities. (Photo: X)
South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun on Thursday told reporters that at least 100 North Koreans deployed to fight for Russia against Ukraine have been killed since entering combat in December.
“In December, they (North Korean troops) engaged in actual combat, during which at least 100 fatalities occurred,” Lee said after a briefing by South Korea’s spy agency. Western analysts had claimed that Russia recruited around 10,000 North Korean soldiers to aid its war effort against Ukraine.
North Korean troops have reportedly been used to reinforce Russian forces, including in the Kursk region, where Russia is clawing back territory following a surprise offensive by Ukrainian forces earlier this year. The deployment came in the wake of the strengthening of Russia-North Korea military ties.
“The National Intelligence Service also reported that the number of injured is expected to reach nearly 1,000,” added Lee, saying that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing to train a new special operations force despite the losses in Russia.
Is Russia Burning Faces Of Dead North Korean Soldiers?
On Monday, Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence agency reported that North Korean units fighting for Russia suffered at least 30 casualties, including killed and wounded soldiers, in several villages on the front lines of the Kursk region. That was the first time Ukraine detailed North Korean losses on this scale.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder confirmed that the US had “indications” of casualties among North Korean forces, both killed and wounded. However, the numbers could not be independently verified. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared a video on X claiming that Russian soldiers were burning the faces of fallen North Korean soldiers to conceal their identities before burial in the Kursk region. The purported video shows bodies of North Korean soldiers lying dead while soldiers appear to set fire to parts of their bodies on the snowy ground.
Zelenskyy claimed Russia is trying to hide the presence of North Korean soldiers and prohibiting them from showing their faces even during training and preparations. “This is a demonstration of disrespect, which is currently prevalent in Russia, a disrespect to everything human,” he wrote.
North Korea Sending Reinforcements
Lee further noted that North Korea’s elite Storm Corps had the capacity to send reinforcements to fill in for the soldiers they had lost in Kursk. The NIS said that Russia “might offer reciprocal benefits” for a new deployment, including modernising North Korean weaponry.
The South Korean lawmaker mentioned that “several North Korean casualties” had already been attributed to Ukrainian missile and drone attacks and training accidents, with the highest ranking “at least at the level of a general”. This is particularly affiliated to the “unfamiliar battlefield environment” with North Korean soldiers serving as expendable units.
“Within the Russian military, complaints have reportedly surfaced that the North Korean troops, due to their lack of knowledge about drones, are more of a burden than an asset,” Lee said.
(with AFP inputs)
- Location :
Seoul, South Korea