Seoul lawmaker says at least 100 North Koreans killed in Russia-Ukraine war

Lee Seong-kweun said about 1,000 troops also injured in Kursk as they lack drone warfare experience

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A Russian rocket launcher fires towards Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location on December 18. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP

Published: 11:21am, 19 Dec 2024Updated: 5:37pm, 19 Dec 2024

At least 100 North Korean troops deployed to Russia have been killed with another 1,000 injured in combat against Ukrainian forces in intense fighting in the Kursk region, a South Korean lawmaker said on Thursday citing the country’s spy agency.

The heavy losses are attributed to the lack of experience by North Korean troops in drone warfare and unfamiliarity with the open terrain where they are taking part in the battle, a member of parliament Lee Seong-kweun told reporters.

Lee was speaking after a closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to parliament.

The discrepancy in the estimate of the troops killed from that made by a US military official who cited several hundred casualties is because of the relatively conservative analysis by the NIS, Lee said.

“There was a report that there have been at least 100 deaths and the injured are approaching 1,000,” he said.

There are indications that the North is preparing for additional deployment, Lee said, including intelligence of the country’s leader Kim Jong-un overseeing training.

The report echoed comments by US and Ukrainian officials that North Korean losses are heavy and that Russia was using them in large numbers in assaults in Kursk, a Russian region where Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion in August.