In an interview with the U.S. military news outlet The War Zone, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, dismissed previous claims that North Korean troops had not been seen for weeks in Russia's Kursk region, which is currently occupied by Ukraine.
His comments came after The New York Times reported late last month, citing anonymous U.S. and Ukrainian officials, that North Korean forces had retreated after suffering huge losses with the possibility of redeployment later.
Budanov admitted that their activities have slowed, but he said, "We have to wait some time to see if there are any real changes or if this is just lower activities for a couple of days."
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) here also confirmed earlier this week that there have been no signs of North Korean troops engaging in combat on the front lines since mid-January. The South Korean spy agency said that heavy casualties could be one of the reasons for their possible withdrawal but further verification is still needed.
The NIS estimates that more than 3,000 North Korean troops in Russia have been killed or injured.
Seth Jones, a U.S. expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a live podcast on Tuesday that he reckons "up to 50 percent of North Korean troops" deployed there had been injured or killed on the battlefield.
Budanov attributed North Korean forces' heavy losses to their "lack of real combat experience" as well as insufficient military equipment. Calling them "cannon fodder," he added that they fight against Ukrainian forces out of "loyalty" to their leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea is believed to have sent over 10,000 soldiers to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, though neither Pyongyang nor Moscow have confirmed or denied their presence.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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