At least 300 North Korean soldiers killed in combat with Ukraine, claims Seoul

ISTANBUL

At least 300 North Korean soldiers were killed in combat with Ukraine, South Korea claimed on Monday.

Some 2,700 others were injured, the South Korean National Intelligence Service told lawmakers, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News.

The revelation by the South Korean spy agency came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that he was ready to hand over two captured North Korean soldiers to Pyongyang in exchange for the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war being held in Russia.

At least two North Korean soldiers were in the custody of Ukraine, Zelenskyy claimed.

Pyongyang and Moscow have been silent over the developments since Seoul and its Western allies claimed a few months ago that North Korea had transported soldiers to Russia to fight against Kyiv.

The South Korean spy agency said the "massive casualties" among the North Korean soldiers were due to their "lack of understanding of modern warfare," including their "useless act of shooting at long-range drones.”

Quoting the spy agency, a ruling People Power Party lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun said: “(One of) the prisoners of war (in Ukraine) has not expressed his intention to come to South Korea.”

Lee was referring to the two North Korean soldiers allegedly arrested by Kyiv and the duo is being questioned by the Ukrainian spy agency with help from the South Korean counterpart.

While the US and NATO have backed claims by Seoul that North Korean soldiers were in the field against Kyiv, Pyongyang has maintained silence even after reports of alleged deaths and injuries among its troops.

The reports of troop deployment assumed significance since Pyongyang and Moscow signed a comprehensive defense pact last year, requiring either party to extend military help to each other in case of aggression by a third party.

The Russia-Ukraine war will complete three years next month after Moscow launched its “special military operation” against Kyiv in February 2022.

Tens of hundreds of people have been killed and millions displaced across the two warring nations.