South Korea says at least 100 North Koreans were killed in the Ukraine war

At least 100 North Korean soldiers have been killed fighting in the Ukraine war since entering the fighting on the Russian side earlier this month, a South Korean lawmaker said.

Another 1,000 were injured, said Lee Sung-kwon, who was speaking to reporters after the country's National Intelligence Service briefed Parliament on a report.

He added that among the victims were high-ranking officials, and this could be explained by the forces’ lack of familiarity with the terrain and drone warfare.

The first reports of casualties in North Korea came earlier this week. It emerged in October that North Korea had sent 10,000 soldiers to assist Russia in the war effort.

A US Pentagon spokesman said on Monday that North Koreans had been killed without mentioning their number, and a day later an unnamed US official said there were “several hundred” dead and wounded.

The BBC has not independently verified these allegations.

The North Korean troops, none of whom will have any previous combat experience, are believed to have spent their first weeks in Russia training and then in support roles.

The casualties are believed to have occurred in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainians are defending a small area of ​​territory captured during a military operation. Sudden invasion in August.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last Saturday that Russia had begun using a “large number” of North Koreans in its attacks in Kursk.

They are not believed to have been deployed in Ukraine itself, where Russian forces have been advancing into eastern parts of the country in recent months.

Lee Sung Kwon said there were reports of preparations to deploy more troops, and that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may supervise the training.

Intelligence officials were quoted as saying that the large number of casualties could be attributed to the “unfamiliar battlefield environment, with North Korean forces being used as expendable assault units on the front lines, and their lack of ability to counter drone attacks.”

He added: “Within the Russian military, complaints have emerged that North Korean forces, due to their lack of knowledge of drones, are more of a burden than an asset.”

Neither Russia nor North Korea acknowledged the troop deployment, but a North Korean statement published by KCNA on Thursday said the country's alliance with Moscow “deters the expansion of influence of the United States and the West in bad faith.”