South Korean intelligence reports 100 North Korean soldiers killed and around 1,000 injured fighting against Ukraine
South Korean MP Lee Seong-kweun, citing intelligence data, has said that 100 North Korean soldiers fighting on the side of Russia have been killed in Kursk Oblast, and about 1,000 other soldiers wounded.
Sources: Reuters, citing Seong-kweun, who disclosed the data after a closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of Korea
Details: Lee Seong-kweun noted that the high number of casualties was due to the North Korean troops' lack of experience in "drone warfare" and their unfamiliarity with open terrain where they are being engaged in combat.
He added that the discrepancy in the estimate of the number of soldiers killed with data from a US military official, who cited several hundred casualties, is due to the relatively conservative analysis of the NIS.
"There was a report that there have been at least 100 deaths and the injured are approaching 1,000," he said.
Previously:
- Earlier, The New York Times, citing a senior US Department of Defense official, reported that the Ukrainian military could have killed or wounded "several hundred" soldiers sent by North Korea to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.
- On 15 December, the Ukrainian military posted photos and videos showing Russian and North Korean soldiers killed in assaults in Kursk Oblast.
Background:
- On 7 November, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that there had already been casualties among the North Korean military fighting on the side of Russia in Kursk Oblast.
- The US confirmed that North Korean troops had taken part in the fighting in Kursk Oblast.
- In addition, according to The New York Times, a 50,000-strong group of Russian and North Korean troops is preparing to launch a large-scale counteroffensive in Kursk Oblast.
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