Seoul’s intelligence agency reported on Tuesday that around 2,000 North Korean soldiers sent to support Russia in the war with Ukraine are estimated to have been killed.
Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) had put the number of soldiers killed in the war at at least 600 in April. But the latest assessment now puts the death toll at around 2,000, lawmaker Lee Seong-kwan told reporters after receiving a briefing from the spy agency.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have reported that North Korea sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia in 2024. The troops were mainly deployed in the Kursk region, where they used artillery, missiles and long-range rocket systems.
According to Rep. Lee, Pyongyang plans to send an additional 6,000 soldiers and engineers to Russia. The NIS believes that about 1,000 of them have recently arrived.
“It is estimated that about 1,000 combat engineers have already entered Russia from the recent third deployment plan of 6,000 troops,” said Rep. Lee.
Earlier this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said North Korea would send construction workers and explosives disposal technicians to the Kursk region.
North Korea only admitted in April that it had sent troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and confirmed that some of its soldiers had been killed in the fighting.
Since then, leader Kim Jong Un has met with the families of soldiers fighting for Russia and expressed his condolences for their “unbearable suffering.” State media has even published photos of Kim hugging returning soldiers, with the soldiers crying on his chest, overcome with emotion.
Similarly, a scene has been made public of a soldier kneeling in front of a photo of a martyred soldier, paying tribute, with medals and flowers placed alongside the deceased’s photo.
Russia and North Korea signed a military cooperation agreement, including a mutual defense clause, last year during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rare visit to North Korea. RSS/AFP
