About 4,700 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded fighting for Russia, South Korea says

SEOUL – An estimated 4,700 North Korean soldiers person been killed oregon wounded portion warring alongside Russia against Ukrainian forces, South Korea’s spy bureau told lawmakers Wednesday.

The appraisal came 2 days aft North Korea confirmed for the archetypal clip that it had sent combat troops to assistance Russia recapture parts of the Kursk region, which it mislaid power of to a astonishment Ukrainian incursion past year.

In a closed-door parliamentary committee briefing, South Korea's National Intelligence Service said North Korea had suffered 4,700 casualties, including 600 deaths, connected the Russia-Ukraine battlefronts, according to Lee Seong Kweun, 1 of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.

Lee told reporters the NIS said that 2,000 injured North Korean soldiers were repatriated to North Korea by aerial oregon bid betwixt January and March. He cited the NIS arsenic saying the dormant North Korean soldiers were cremated successful Russia earlier their remains were sent backmost home.

In January, the NIS said astir 300 North Korean soldiers had died and different 2,700 had been injured, and the South Korean subject accrued the estimated casualties to 4,000 past month.

On Monday, North Korea announced that person Kim Jong Un had decided to dispatch troops to “annihilate and hitch retired the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk country successful practice with the Russian equipped forces.” Russian President Vladimir Putin aboriginal issued a connection thanking North Korea and promising not to hide the sacrifices of North Korean soldiers.

Both Kim and Putin said the North Korean deployment was made nether their countries’ landmark 2024 defence treaty, which requires each broadside to supply assistance if the different is attacked. The U.S., South Korea and their partners accidental North Korea has been supplying immense amounts of conventional weapons to replenish Russia’s depleted stocks arsenic well. They fishy Russia is providing North Korea with subject and economical assistance successful return.

U.S., South Korean and Ukraine officials person said North Korea dispatched 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia past fall. South Korea's subject said successful March that North Korea sent astir 3,000 further troops to Russia earlier this year.

During its Wednesday briefing, the NIS said it assessed that Russia has fixed North Korea air defence missiles, physics warfare equipment, drones and exertion for spy outer launches, according to Kim Byung-kee, different lawmaker who attended the NIS briefing.

Kim quoted the NIS arsenic saying that 15,000 North Korean laborers person besides been sent to Russia nether bilateral concern practice programs. The lawmaker said the magnitude of North Korean missiles and artillery sent to Russia was worthy billions of dollars but the NIS hasn’t detected signs that Russia has sent North Korea currency remittances for them.

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