Number of North Korean soldiers killed fighting for Russia revealed

About 600 North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia against Ukraine have been killed and thousands more wounded, a Seoul lawmaker said Wednesday, after Pyongyang officially confirmed the deployment of troops to aid Moscow.

"So far, the casualties of North Korean troops are estimated at around 4,700, including approximately 600 deaths," lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun, a member of parliament's intelligence committee, told reporters after a briefing by the country's spy agency.

North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday that it had deployed troops to Russia, with state news agency KCNA reporting that Pyongyang's soldiers helped Moscow recapture territory under Ukrainian control in the Russian border region of Kursk.

Moscow had separately confirmed the North's participation, after months of official silence from both countries, even as Seoul and Washington accused Pyongyang of sending more and more troops and weapons to help.

About 2,000 soldiers have returned to North Korea this year, Lee said, and are now reportedly being held in isolation in Pyongyang and other locations across the country.

North Korea "supported the retaking of Kursk from Russia by deploying 18,000 troops in two stages," Lee said, adding that the number of clashes in the area had declined since March.

South Korea has repeatedly criticized the troop deployment and criticized the North for sending container shipments of weapons, including missiles, to aid Russia's war against Ukraine.

The nuclear-armed North has received significant technical support from Russia in return, Seoul claimed.

In addition, after six months of fighting, Seoul's National Intelligence Service estimates that "the combat capability of North Korean forces has improved significantly," Lee said.

Lee even added that it was not possible to "completely rule out the possibility" that the North could send more soldiers to Russia.

Troops sent to Russia, reportedly from North Korea's elite Storm Troopers, have been ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, Seoul has previously said.

Moscow and Pyongyang have increased their military cooperation since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The two countries signed a comprehensive military agreement last year, including a mutual defense clause, when Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to North Korea.

Pyongyang launched a series of ballistic missiles last year in defiance of UN sanctions.

Experts have warned that the nuclear-armed North could test weapons for export to Russia for use against Ukraine.Telegraph/