As many as 300 North Korean soldiers are said to have been killed by the endless war in Ukraine, reports suggested as statements came from a legislator in South Korea. Lee Seong-kweun provided these details after he was briefed by Seoul’s National Intelligence Service that suggested almost 2,700 soldiers were injured.
It now seems that the deployment of North Korean troops has spread to the Kursk region, and total casualties could be over 3,000. Lee added that what the NIS analysis underlined was a serious disconnect in the understanding of modern warfare by the soldiers, which partly explains why casualties are so high as they are being used as cannon fodder by the Russian forces.
This comes in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealing the capture of two North Korean soldiers and presenting a video with the injured fighters being interrogated. Zelenskyy vowed that Kyiv is ready to exchange the captive North Koreans for Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia.
However, the Kremlin has kept mum over the reported capture, with the spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying, “We cannot comment in any way, we do not know what is true there.” He further said that talks about the potential exchanges were still on, but added the complications which characterized it, stressing the lives of Russian soldiers were important.
Seoul has claimed that Kim Jong Un has sent more than 10,000 troops to help Moscow in its campaign against Kyiv, in return for Russian support of North Korea’s weapons and satellite programs, both under sanction. Russia has denied and confirmed nothing with regard to North Korean soldiers’ involvement in the conflict.
The two abducted soldiers, according to lawmakers who attended the NIS briefing, have yet to show any willingness to defect or resettle in South Korea. The agency would initiate discussions with Ukrainian authorities if there was a wish by the soldiers to seek asylum.
Asylum for the North Korean soldiers will be subjected to legal consideration and consultation with the related countries in charge of handling such matters. A spokesman from the South Korea Ministry of Unification handling inter-Korean affairs, Koo Byoungsam says, “There’s nothing we can say at the current stage.”.
It was reported that those soldiers, supposed members of North Korea’s Storm Corps-its most elite soldiers-were told to commit suicide to avoid the consequences of capture. Lee disclosed memos discovered on the dead soldiers, insinuating there had been orders by the North Korean leadership either to commit suicide or self-explode before their capture. In fact, certain soldiers wanted amnesty for better conditions in life, with the ambition of having membership in the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in their thoughts when joining the army.
In one dramatic incident, a North Korean soldier facing capture reportedly shouted “General Kim Jong Un” before attempting to detonate a grenade; he died after being shot by Ukrainian forces.
