300 North Korean Soldiers Reportedly Killed While Fighting in Ukraine, Says South Korean Lawmaker.
Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers march on Kim Il-Sung sqaure during a military parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung, in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ED JONES
A South Korean lawmaker stated Monday, citing data from Seoul’s spy agency, that over 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 have been injured while participating in Russia’s conflict against Ukraine.
Seoul has previously asserted that in exchange for Russian technical support for Pyongyang’s heavily sanctioned satellite and weaponry programs, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has dispatched over 10,000 troops as “cannon fodder” to aid Moscow in its conflict with Kyiv.
The possibility of a prisoner swap for captured Ukrainian troops was raised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who announced over the weekend that Kyiv had captured two North Korean soldiers and released video showing the wounded combatants being questioned.
Following a briefing from the spy agency, congressman Lee Seong-kweun informed reporters that North Korean troops had apparently extended their deployment to Russia to cover the Kursk region, with estimates indicating that North Korean forces had suffered more than 3,000 deaths.
After a briefing from Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, Lee stated that this includes “roughly 300 deaths and 2,700 injuries.”
According to Lee, the troops, who are purportedly members of North Korea’s elite Storm Corps, have been told to commit suicide rather than be captured.
“Notably, memos found on deceased soldiers indicate that the North Korean authorities pressured them to commit suicide or self-detonate before capture,” he said.
In an effort to better their lot through combat, he added, some of the soldiers had received “amnesty” or desired to join the Workers’ Party, which rules North Korea.
According to Lee, a North Korean soldier who was on the verge of being arrested yelled, “General Kim Jong Un,” and tried to set off a grenade before being shot and killed.
The legislator added that the NIS investigation showed that Russia is using North Korean soldiers in a way that results in “the high number of casualties” and that they have “a lack of understanding of modern warfare.” – Captured soldiers Speaking in parliament on behalf of South Korea’s intelligence committee, Lee stated that US president-elect Donald Trump, who has made prior attempts to court North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, “may push for dialogue… once again” in the upcoming year.
Additionally, he stated that following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late 2023, Kim would “consider the possibility of a visit to Russia in the first half of this year.”He added that there would “undoubtedly be more” North Korean soldiers taken by Kyiv.
“For those North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return, there may be other options available,” Zelensky said. The United States, South Korea, and Ukraine have accused nuclear-armed North Korea of sending over 10,000 soldiers to support Russian forces; neither Pyongyang nor Moscow have admitted that North Koreans have been sent to fight against Ukraine.
Since Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the two nations have increased their military cooperation. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated during a visit to Seoul this month that Washington believed Russia was expanding space cooperation with North Korea in exchange for its troop contribution in the conflict.
The top diplomat in Washington said the United States also thought Russia “may be close” to officially acknowledging North Korea as a nuclear power.
In the video that Zelensky shared of the interrogation of the two North Korean POWs, one man is seen lying in a bunk bed while the other is sitting up with a bandage around his jaw.
Through an interpreter, one man is heard telling a Ukrainian official that he did not know he was going to fight in a war with Ukraine and that his commanders “told him it was just training.” In translated remarks, one of the men says he wants to return to North Korea.The other says he will do as he is told but, if given the option, wants to reside in Ukraine.
