Lee said some of the roughly 11,000 North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia’s western Kursk region have engaged in combat, according to Seoul’s spy agency. “They have been assigned to Russia’s airborne brigade and marine corps, undergoing tactical and response training. Some of them are assessed to have engaged in combat,” he said.
As a result, the NIS believes that “casualties are occurring” among the North Koreans, he said. Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow has confirmed the presence of North Korean troops in Russia.
Pyongyang said last month that any troop deployment to Russia would comply with international law. The nuclear-armed North has publicly strengthened military ties with Russia in recent years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to Pyongyang in June, where he signed a mutual defence agreement with leader Kim Jong Un.
Analysts have warned that the North’s recent ramping up of artillery and cruise missile testing and production could be in preparation for further shipments to Russia.
North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia has led to a shift in tone from Seoul, which has resisted calls to send lethal weapons to Kyiv so far but recently indicated it might change its longstanding policy.