Around 1,500 North Korean soldiers who were believed to be additionally deployed to Russia have been already on front lines to aid Russia's war against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker who recently visited Kyiv said Wednesday, citing Ukraine's defense intelligence agency.
Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the ruling People Power Party shared the information during a CBS radio interview after his trip to Ukraine on Feb. 23-26,
North Korea reportedly sent around 11,000 troops to Russia in October last year and deployed additional forces between January and February this year.
"I heard from the Ukrainian government that additional troops were being deployed to replenish (the force) and that another group of troops is preparing for deployment," Yu said.
On North Korean military casualties, Yu said Ukraine estimated about 4,000 casualties, compared with South Korea's 3,600, with around 10 percent of them presumed to be deaths.
"Since it didn't make sense that there are over 3,000 injured soldiers yet only two have been captured as prisoners of war, I asked if there were more but the Ukrainian side said there were none," he said. "They explained that many of the wounded soldiers resorted to self-destruction."
Yu also released an audio clip of his talks with a wounded soldier captured by Ukrainian forces in January during combat against Kyiv in Russia's Kursk region.
In a rare glimpse into the North's military, the soldier said North Korean troops went through intense physical training, running up to eight hours with backpacks that weigh between 20 to 25 kilograms. (Yonhap)
