About 600 North Korean soldiers have died while fighting in Russia against Ukraine, South Korean lawmakers said today, citing South Korea's intelligence agency. According to them, a total of 15,000 North Korean soldiers were stationed in the region, world agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
According to the lawmakers, a total of 4,700 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in the Kursk region so far. But the lawmakers added that the North Korean military has demonstrated increased combat capabilities in recent months, using advanced military equipment, for example.
In exchange for deploying troops and supplying weapons to Russia, Pyongyang has apparently received technical assistance for its spy satellites, as well as drones and anti-aircraft missiles, the lawmakers said.
“After six months of participation in the war, the North Korean military has increased its competence, with its combat capabilities significantly improved and it has learned how to handle new weapons such as drones,“ Lee Seong-kwon, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters after receiving data from South Korea's National Intelligence Service.
Earlier this week, Pyongyang confirmed for the first time that it had sent troops to Russia on the orders of leader Kim Jong-un and that they had helped it regain control over Russian territory, which was invaded by Ukrainian forces last summer.
The unprecedented deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers, as well as the huge quantities of artillery shells and missiles supplied, have given Russia a decisive advantage on the battlefield in the western Kursk region.
Lee Seong-kwon added that the bodies of the dead North Korean soldiers were cremated in Kursk and then the urns were sent to North Korea.
Pyongyang is also believed to have sent about 15,000 workers to Russia, the lawmakers said, citing intelligence estimates.
North Korean labor abroad is known to be a source of foreign exchange earnings for the regime, although UN sanctions prohibit the use of North Korean labor in third countries.