At least 100 North Koreans killed in Ukraine war, South Korea says

At least 100 North Korean soldiers have died in combat in the Ukraine war since they entered combat on the Russian side earlier this month, a South Korean lawmaker has said.

Lee Sung-kwon, speaking to reporters after parliament was briefed by the country’s National Intelligence Service, said another 1,000 were injured.

He said the casualties included high-ranking officials and could be explained by the troops’ lack of familiarity with the terrain and with drone warfare.

The first reports of North Korean casualties came earlier this week. In October it emerged that the North had sent 10,000 troops to help Russia’s war effort.

On Monday, a US Pentagon spokesman said North Koreans had been killed, without giving a number, and a day later an unnamed US official said there were “several hundred” dead or wounded .

The BBC has not independently verified the claims.

The North Korean troops, none of whom will have any previous combat experience, are believed to have spent their first few weeks in Russia training and then in support roles.

The casualties are believed to have occurred in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainians are defending a small area of ​​territory captured during a surprise raid in August.

Last Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had begun using a “significant number” of North Koreans in its assaults on Kursk.

They are not believed to have been deployed in Ukraine itself, where Russian troops have been advancing in the east of the country in recent months.

Lee Sung-kwon said there were reports of preparations for a further deployment and that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could oversee the training.

It quoted intelligence officials as saying the high number of casualties could be attributed to an “unfamiliar battle environment, where North Korean forces are being used as expendable front-line assault units, and its lack of ability to counter drone strikes.”

“Within the Russian military, there have reportedly been complaints that North Korean troops, because of their lack of knowledge about drones, are more of a burden than an asset,” he added.

Neither Russia nor the North have acknowledged the troop deployment, but a North Korean statement released Thursday by state news agency KCNA said the country’s alliance with Moscow “was deterring the spread of malicious influence by USA and the West”.