South Korea's National Intelligence Service informed parliament members on Thursday that approximately 4,700 North Korean soldiers who participated in the battles against Ukrainian forces on Russia's side have been killed or wounded.
This assessment was announced two days after North Korea first confirmed it had sent its military personnel to Russia to help recapture parts of the Kursk region lost following Ukraine's unexpected attack last year.
During a parliamentary committee meeting held behind closed doors, the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported that North Korea had suffered 4,700 casualties on the Russia-Ukraine front, 600 of whom were killed, according to assembly participant, deputy Lee Sun Kwon.
Lee mentioned that the NIS stated between January and March, 2,000 wounded North Korean soldiers were transported back to their homeland by air or rail. The bodies of the deceased soldiers were cremated in Russia, and their ashes were sent to North Korea.
In January, the NIS had reported that 300 North Korean soldiers had been killed, and another 2,700 wounded. Last month, the South Korean military had raised the total number of wounded and killed to 4,000.
On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced his decision to send his troops to join the Russian armed forces to "eliminate Ukrainian neo-Nazi invaders and liberate the Kursk region." Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his gratitude to North Korea, promising to never forget the sacrifices of the North Korean soldiers.
As stressed by Kim and Putin, the dispatch of North Korean soldiers was carried out under the defense agreement signed between the two countries in 2024, which requires mutual assistance for the defense of both sides. The US, South Korea, and their allies are stating that North Korea is supplying Russia with a large amount of conventional weaponry. They suspect that in return for this assistance, Russia is providing North Korea with military and economic aid.
According to officials from the US, South Korea, and Ukraine, last fall North Korea had sent 10,000–12,000 soldiers to Russia. In March, the South Korean military announced that an additional 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent.
During a briefing on Wednesday, NIS representative Kim Byung Kee reported that Russia had provided North Korea with air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones, and reconnaissance launch technologies. Additionally, as part of bilateral industrial cooperation, 15,000 North Korean workers were sent to Russia. He mentioned that the value of missiles and artillery supplied by North Korea to Russia amounts to billions of dollars, but no evidence has been found of Russia making cash payments to North Korea for these weapons.
Abdulloh Sayyid
