North Korea has lost more than 1,000 troops fighting alongside Russian forces

More than 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in Russia’s war with Ukraine, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday, according to a report by South Korea’s spy agency to lawmakers last week that said at least 100 North Korean soldiers have been killed since joining the fight in December 2024.

North Korea has sent thousands of troops to reinforce the Russian military, including to Russia’s Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces seized Russian territory earlier this year.

“From various sources of information and intelligence, we estimate that North Korean troops recently engaged in fighting against Ukrainian forces have suffered approximately 1,100 casualties, and we are particularly concerned about the possibility of additional North Korean troops being deployed to assist the Russian war effort,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, according to AFP.

North Korea is preparing to deploy more troops, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said

Intelligence in South Korea suggests that nuclear-armed North Korea is producing and providing self-destructing drones to Russia to further aid its war against Ukraine, and that North Korea is supplying the Russian military with 240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled artillery.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff report said North Korea aims to upgrade its conventional warfare capabilities based on combat experience in the Russia-Ukraine war.

North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is keen to obtain advanced technologies from Russia and combat experience for his forces.

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