South Korean National Intelligence Service said that there have been more than 3,000 casualties among North Korean soldiers who were deployed to support Russia’s years-long war efforts on the battlefield against Ukraine, according to Lee Sung-kwon and Park Son-won, lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party, respectively. Lee and Park made the statements on January 13, after being briefed by the NIS in a closed meeting at the National Assembly.
More than 300 North Korean soldiers were killed while more than 2,700 soldiers were injured in the Kursk region of Russia, where the Ukrainian military – armed with the U.S. military assets – has conducted offensive operations since August 2024.
In October 2024, the South’s NIS shared its prediction to the parliament that North Korea could send up to 10,000 troops to fight against Ukraine by the end of the year, confirming roughly 3,000 troops had been deployed to Russia at the time. There were some speculations that the North could send up to 100,000 troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine under the mutual defense pact signed between North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024. The pact was signed during Putin’s first visit to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, since July 2000.
Ukraine has reported engaging in fighting against presumed North Korean soldiers. Recently, it reported the first confirmed captures of North Koreans on the battlefield. In a video posted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X, formerly known as Twitter, a captured North Korean soldier said he did not know that he was fighting in a war against Ukraine and his commander told him that “it was just a training” when he was sent to war.
Based on the accents heard in the video, a South Korean – assumed to be an NIS agent – seems to have helped communication between the Ukrainian military and captured North Korean soldiers.
“I want to live in Ukraine,” the captured soldier said when asked whether he wants to return to North Korea. “Are the Ukrainian people nice?” he asked the interpreter. The soldier later said he will return to home in North Korea if required but assured he will essentially do what he is told.
There was another captured North Korean soldier in the video, but he was not able to speak due to the severe injury on his cheek and head. But he nodded when asked if he wants to return to North Korea. When asked whether he has a family in North Korea, he also nodded. However, he shook his head when asked whether his parents know his whereabouts.
Since Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been taking longer than he expected, Russia has reportedly been facing a shortage of recruits. In exchange for providing information on sensitive military technology to North Korea, Russia has reportedly asked North Korea to deploy troops to the battlefield and supply weapons.
The United States first accused Pyongyang and Moscow of engaging in an arms trade in September 2022, seven months after the Ukraine war started. According to the intelligence of the U.S. and South Korea, North Korea has provided thousands of containers of weapons to Russia. In return, it might have received technology support in developing reconnaissance satellites as well as support to grapple with its sluggish economy caused by the extensive sanctions of the U.S. and the United Nations.
Russia and North Korea have repeatedly denied trading in arms, which is a violation of the U.N. sanction against North Korea. However, the cargoes and containers captured in the satellite images clearly demonstrated the arms trade between the two countries is taking place against a backdrop of deepened ties and strengthened military cooperation.
Zelenskyy mentioned in his post on X that any North Korean soldiers who “who express a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korean will be given that opportunity,” hinting that those captured would not be forced to return to North Korea.
The South’s NIS said it will coordinate with Ukraine if North Korean soldiers captured by the Ukrainian military express their intention to defect to South Korea. North Koreans are considered South Korean nationals under the South’s Constitution. However, as most of them may have a family in North Korea, they may not be able to ask for help to defect to South Korea even if they want to.