Around 600 North Korean Soldiers Killed, At Least 4,700 Injured in Ukraine War – South Korea’s Intelligence Agency NIS

Around 600 North Korean Soldiers Killed, At Least 4,700 Injured in Ukraine War – South Korea’s Intelligence Agency NIS

South Korean lawmakers revealed after a briefing by the country’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) that approximately 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed while fighting for Russia in the Ukraine war.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday following a classified NIS briefing, Lee Seong-kun and Kim Byung-kee — co-vice chairmen of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee — stated that an estimated 4,700 North Korean troops have been either killed or wounded so far.

Their comments come at a time when Pyongyang has, for the first time, officially acknowledged sending troops to support Russia in the conflict.

In a report published Monday by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was quoted as ordering the deployment of troops to “annihilate and eliminate the Ukrainian Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk region in coordination with the Russian Armed Forces.”

The latest casualty numbers are nearly double the figures reported by South Korea’s intelligence agency in January, when it was said that around 300 North Korean troops had died in the war.

Lee and Kim — members of the conservative People Power Party and the liberal Democratic Party, respectively — told reporters that according to the NIS, North Korea has so far deployed approximately 15,000 troops to the Ukrainian battlefield.

They also revealed that in exchange for its participation in the war, North Korea has received satellite technology support, drones, electronic warfare equipment, and SA-22 surface-to-air missiles from Russia.

Lee stated, “After six months of combat, the North Korean military is no longer as inexperienced as it once was. They’ve become accustomed to using new weapons, including drones, and their combat capabilities have significantly improved.”