According to the Korean spy agency, they were sent to fight alongside Russia to fight alongside Russia in the war with Ukraine, but they were not seen in the battle for several weeks, so after suffering a great loss They raised speculation that they had withdrawn.
The National Intelligence Bureau, held this week in Seoul, confirmed media reports that North Korean forces had been drawn from the frontline around mid-January.
In late 2024, North Korea began sending an estimated 11,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region, shortly after Northern rulers Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and alliances against what they called US-led “Western Hegemony” agreed to a mutual defense agreement designed to strengthen.
Their involvement comes at a big price. A South Korean intelligence report official said about 300 North Koreans have been killed and about 2,700 people have been injured. In January, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a clip showing two captured North Korean soldiers.
Northern soldiers who had never seen the battle before they were deployed are not prepared for the harsh reality of war on unfamiliar terrain and are said to be particularly vulnerable to Ukrainian drones. It was there.
A Southern intelligence news source claimed that the memo was found on dead North Korean soldiers, indicating that the administration expects them to commit suicide rather than become prisoners.
The arrival of North Korean troops is fearful that the war could lead to a dangerous turn for Ukraine amid the assertions by South Korean military officials that the Pyongyang regime is preparing to send more troops. caused.
In return for the dispatch of personnel, weapons and ammunition, the North hopes to access sophisticated Russian satellite technology and acquire foreign currency to fund nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The intelligence agency in the south said many casualties were factors in the apparent decision to withdraw North Korean soldiers from Kursk, where Ukrainian forces launched a surprising attack in August 2024.
Seth Jones of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated this week that half of North Korean troops sent to Ukraine were killed or injured in Russia's “war of attrition.”
According to Yonghap News Agency, Jones said during his podcast appearance that “the casualty rate was important.” “Most accounts allowed us to see somewhere between a third, perhaps the actual high-end, perhaps among the 50% of the North Korean troops.
“Also, [it’s] It's hard to know exactly what reality is… up to 1,000 people were killed. They are pretty incredible victims for 11,000 powers [to] 12,000. ”
North Korea has not publicly acknowledged its role in the war, but in October, President Putin did not deny that Northern troops had arrived in Russia. North Korea's Deputy Minister of Responsible Kim Jong-ghi said such developments were in line with international law.
