Lack of understanding of modern warfare’ — Seoul reports 3,000 North Korean casualties in Russia’s Kursk Oblast

Korean People’s Army (KPA) soldiers leave after bowing before the statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il during National Memorial Day on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 17, 2018. (Kim Won Jin / AFP via Getty Images)
THE KYIV INDEPENDENT | Published January 13, 2025

At least 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 wounded fighting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) claimed on Jan. 13, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency.

The NIS attributed the high casualties to the soldiers’ “lack of understanding of modern warfare,” including their “useless” attempts to shoot down long-range drones.

North Korean troops were deployed to Kursk Oblast last fall to support Russian forces in countering a Ukrainian incursion launched on Aug. 6. Ukrainian forces have continued fighting in the region, leveraging their positions for potential future negotiations.

The NIS remarks follow President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim on Jan. 9 that North Korean forces fighting alongside Russian troops have suffered 4,000 casualties, both killed and wounded.

The NIS reported that North Korea has allegedly forced its soldiers to kill themselves to avoid capture by Ukrainian troops.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed on Dec. 27 that some North Korean soldiers had taken their own lives, fearing retaliation against their families if captured.

On Jan. 11, Zelensky announced the capture of two North Korean soldiers in Kursk Oblast. The prisoners of war (POWs), identified by the NIS as members of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea’s military intelligence agency, are now in the custody of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and receiving medical care.

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SOURCE: www.kyivindependent.com

RELATED: Around 300 North Korean Soldiers Killed Fighting for Russia, South Korean Lawmaker says


North Korean soldiers.KCNA
THE MOSCOW TIMES | Published January 13, 2025

Around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 wounded while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker said Monday, citing information from Seoul’s spy agency.

Seoul has previously claimed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent more than 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow fight Kyiv in return for Russian technical assistance for Pyongyang’s heavily sanctioned weapons and satellite programs.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv captured two North Korean soldiers, releasing a video of the injured combatants being interrogated and raising the possibility of a prisoner swap for captured Ukrainian troops.

“The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia has reportedly expanded to include the Kursk region, with estimates suggesting that casualties among North Korean forces have surpassed 3,000,” lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters after a briefing from the spy agency.

That includes “approximately 300 deaths and 2,700 injuries,” Lee said, after a briefing from Seoul’s National Intelligence Service. The soldiers, reportedly from North Korea’s elite Storm Corps, were ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, the lawmaker added.

“Notably, memos found on deceased soldiers indicate that the North Korean authorities pressured them to commit suicide or self-detonate before capture,” Lee said. According to him, some of the soldiers were granted “amnesty” or wanted to join North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, hoping to improve their position in society by fighting.

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SOURCE: www.themoscowtimes.com

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