at least 100 North Korean soldiers killed in fighting

In December, North Korean troops “ participated in real combat » alongside Russian forces against Ukraine“during which at least 100 deaths occurred”declared this Thursday, December 19, South Korean MP Lee Seong-kweun. This statement, echoing information from kyiv and Washington, came at the end of a briefing given by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to parliamentarians in Seoul.

“The NIS also said the number of injured is expected to reach nearly 1,000” among North Korean troops, Lee Seong-kweun added. According to him, certain information indicates that “several North Korean losses, including those of high-ranking officers, occurred in Ukrainian missile and drone attacks, as well as in accidents during training”.

According to the South Korean Intelligence Service, cited by Lee Seong-kweun, the high number of victims can be explained by “the unfamiliar battlefield environment, where North Korean forces are used as expendable frontline assault units, and their lack of ability to counter drone attacks”.

“Heavy losses”

The MP also mentioned “complaints among the Russian military that North Korean troops, due to their lack of knowledge about drones, are more of a burden than an asset”. Several thousand North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia in recent weeks to support the Russian army, according to Westerners. For its part, the Kremlin has each time evaded questions on the subject, not wanting to confirm this information.

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On Tuesday, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky, declared that the Russian army was leading “intensive offensive operations in the Kursk region, actively using units of the North Korean army”adding that it had already “suffered heavy losses”.

The same day, a senior American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, estimated that “several hundred” North Korea’s losses, “from lightly wounded to those killed in combat”. The United States and its allies had, again on Tuesday, denounced in a joint press release “a dangerous enlargement” of the war in Ukraine and urged North Korea to repatriate its troops.

“Benefits in return”

Ukraine launched a surprise offensive in the Russian region of Kursk at the beginning of August, the largest on Russian territory since the Second World War. She still controls a small part of this territory.

North Korea has never confirmed or denied the presence of its troops alongside Russia. On Thursday, however, a spokesperson for his Ministry of Foreign Affairs described “irresponsible provocations” Washington’s criticism of its support for Moscow.

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North Korea and Russia have strengthened military ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A historic mutual defense treaty between Pyongyang and Moscow, signed in June, came into force earlier this month. He plans “immediate military aid” in the event of armed attack by a third country.

According to the South Korean MP, the NIS “closely monitoring the possibility of further North Korean troop deployments, while anticipating that Russia could offer benefits in return, such as modernizing North Korea’s conventional weapons”.