Seoul: North Korean troops are believed to have incurred over 4,700 casualties, including 600 deaths, fighting alongside Russian forces in its war against Ukraine, Seoul’s spy agency told lawmakers on Wednesday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) gave the assessment during a closed-door briefing for the National Assembly’s intelligence committee, according to Reps. Lee Seong-kweun of the People Power Party and Kim Byung-kee of the Democratic Party.
North Korea has also deployed a total of 15,000 troops to Russia over two phases, and fighting has decreased since April after Moscow took back most areas of its front-line region of Kursk, the lawmakers quoted the NIS as saying, Yonhap news agency reported. The spy agency has yet to detect signs of another troop deployment by North Korea but did not rule out its possibility, they said.
The announcement follows North Korea’s confirmation on Monday that it had dispatched troops to aid Russian operations, with state-run KCNA claiming its soldiers helped Moscow recapture Ukrainian-held areas in the border region of Kursk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the deployment of troops to support its war with Ukraine, pledging that their bilateral friendship, forged on battlefields, will continue to grow, Russian news reports said.
Putin extended the message to Kim for North Korea’s “help in liberating the Kursk Region from Ukrainian formations,” the Russian news agency Tass reported, citing the Kremlin’s press service, just hours after Pyongyang officially confirmed its troop deployment to Russia.
“We highly appreciate this and are sincerely grateful, personally to the Chairman of the State Affairs Committee, Comrade Kim Jong-un, as well as to the entire leadership and the people of North Korea,” Putin was quoted as saying. Putin also said the strong bond of friendship and cooperation forged between Russia and North Korea on the battlefield will continue to grow and expand across the board, Yonhap news agency reported.
On Monday, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it has deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine under their mutual defence treaty, claiming the North’s soldiers helped Russia regain control of Kursk. The North’s deployment was made by “the order” of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in accordance with Pyongyang’s mutual defence treaty with Moscow, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
Citing the North’s Central Military Commission, the KCNA reported the first confirmation of troop deployment to Russia, months after thousands of North Korean troops were sent to Russia for combat in the front-line region of Kursk.
Meanwhile, South Korea strongly condemned North Korea’s first public admission of sending troops to Russia in support of its war against Ukraine, accusing Pyongyang of “mocking” the international community by justifying the deployment.
The foreign ministry issued the statement after the North confirmed through its state media for the first time that it has deployed troops to Russia to aid Moscow’s war in Kyiv under their mutual defence treaty. Pyongyang said the decision was made at the behest of its leader Kim Jong-un and claimed that it was fully legitimate in line with the treaty committing the two sides to providing military assistance in case either of them is attacked.
“With their public admission of the deployment, while claiming they are fully in accordance with international law, they are once again mocking the international community. We strongly condemn this action,” the ministry said. “The dispatch of the North Korean troops, along with broader military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, constitutes a grave violation of international norms, including the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions,” it said.
The government urged Russia and North Korea to “immediately cease their unlawful military cooperation,” stressing it “seriously undermines peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, including Europe.” “We will work closely with the international community to take all necessary measures against any actions that threaten our national security.”
