At least 100 North Korean soldiers stationed in Russia have been killed and 1,000 wounded in fighting against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, a South Korean lawmaker said on Friday, citing intelligence, Reuters reported.
The heavy losses are due to the North Korean soldiers' lack of experience in conducting combat operations with drones and their unfamiliarity with the open terrain where they are fighting, lawmaker Lee Song-kwon told reporters.
Yi spoke after a closed briefing by the National Intelligence Service before parliament.
The discrepancy in the estimate of the dead soldiers with that made by a US military official, who indicated several hundred casualties, is due to the relatively conservative analysis of South Korean intelligence, Yi said.
There are indications that the North is preparing to send reinforcements, Yi said.
According to American and South Korean officials, more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.