April 1, 2025
SEOUL – The total number of North Korean troops killed or injured fighting for Russia in its war in Ukraine has risen above 4,000, according to the National Intelligence Service’s latest update, ruling party Rep. Lee Seong-kweun said.
Lee, the People Power Party’s deputy chair of the National Assembly’s intelligence committee, told The Korea Herald that the NIS’ figure as of mid-March indicates more than 4,000 North Korean troops have either been wounded or killed in Russia’s war. This is an increase from the total of around 3,000 — nearly one-third of the 11,000 troops North Korea sent for Russia — that the NIS released in January.
“The latest we have is that more than 4,000 members of North Korean forces in the Ukraine war have either been killed or wounded,” the lawmaker said.
Lee said the NIS believes North Korea sent another 3,000 to 4,000 more troops to make up for the losses after a brief withdrawal from the Kursk front line in February. “North Korean troops have disappeared from the Kursk front briefly as a result of losing some 30 percent of their men to casualties, but they have since been replenished with additional dispatches of troops,” he said.
Lee said the NIS suspects that those killed or wounded could include senior-ranking officers of the North Korean forces, which was tricky to ascertain as North Korea was “covering up tracks” of its military deployment in Ukraine.
“North Korea recovers the bodies of its dead soldiers as much as they can, rather than leaving them behind, in an effort to cover up any signs of their involvement in the war,” he said.
According to what the NIS has learned from its Ukrainian counterpart, North Korean troops were also instructed to take themselves out with a grenade if they come close to capture. “They have guidelines telling the troops to opt for self-destruction and suicide to evade capture,” Lee said.
The NIS does not think Ukraine has North Korean prisoners of war in its custody other than the two that had been captured in January.
While Ukrainian authorities have said North Korean troops were tipping the balance in favor of the Russian side in the Kursk battles, the NIS does not think the North Korean contribution has been significant, according to Lee.
“North Korean troops were mostly used like expendables in the battles, and they are not believed to have played a decisive role in Russia’s recent gains in the Kursk region, which is more attributable to the US ending intelligence-sharing with Ukraine under Trump,” the lawmaker said, citing the NIS.
Although North Korea does not officially recognize its military deployment to Russia and has made no acknowledgement of it to its own people, the NIS finds anxiety about further conscription to be spreading, Lee said. Many young people in North Korea are only children, making the families more reluctant to send them into war.
“Some are taking extreme measures such as self-inflicted mutilation of their bodies to dodge conscription, with North Korean authorities providing gifts and other consolatory offerings to families of deployed soldiers to prevent unrest,” Lee said.
As for the possibility of North Korea carrying out a nuclear weapons test this year, Lee said the NIS believes they are “prepared to conduct another test at any time.” “The NIS has been saying for some time now that North Korea is ready to test a nuclear weapon, the only question is when,” he said.
The NIS’ intelligence assessment with regard to Ju-ae — the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un — being his likely heir has not changed, according to Lee. “Ju-ae is still the most likely heir apparent, although the NIS does think the North Korean leader has other children of unknown age and sex,” he said.