Have North Korean fighters died in the Russia-Ukraine war? | News about the Russian-Ukrainian war

There are reports that thousands of North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded while fighting in the war in Ukraine on the side of Russia.

Authorities in Ukraine, South Korea and the United States reported deaths among North Korean soldiers near the Ukrainian border in Kursk, Russia.

Here's what we know so far about the reported deaths and why the North Koreans may be waging the war in Ukraine:

Are North Korean soldiers sent to fight Russian troops?

North Korea has denied sending troops or weapons to help Russia.

However, in February this year, former South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik told reporters that Pyongyang has sent some 6,700 containers carrying millions of munitions to Moscow since September 2023. in exchange for raw materials for the manufacture of weapons, along with food.

On October 9, the Ukrainian army announced hit a Russian weapons arsenal that included weapons sent to Russia by North Korea.

Then, on October 16 this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told parliament that North Korea had become a “de facto participant” in the war between Ukraine and Russia. He added that Ukrainian intelligence had found that North Korea was transferring not only weapons but also soldiers to Moscow.

UK-based Conflict Armament Research, which monitors weapons used in conflict, told the UN Security Council (UNSC) on December 18 that Pyongyang is capable of producing ballistic missiles and delivering them to Moscow within months.

How many North Koreans are believed to have died in Ukraine?

The numbers vary depending on who they come from.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X on Monday that Ukrainian forces have killed or wounded more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region of Russia.

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However, Zelensky's assessment is higher than that of the South Korean military, which said on Monday that at least 1,100 North Korean soldiers was killed or wounded.

Seoul's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said Thursday that an estimated 100 of them had been killed and 1,000 wounded since they entered combat against Ukraine.

South Korean parliament member Lee Sung-kwon updated reporters with the figures last week, according to the BBC. He said the casualties included high-ranking officials and suggested the soldiers died because they were unfamiliar with Russian terrain and drone warfare.

Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify any of these casualty figures.

Why is North Korea sending troops to fight for Russia?

The US, Ukraine and South Korea say North Korean soldiers began arriving in Moscow in October this year, more than 2.5 years after the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.

The war in Ukraine is first time the military of isolated North Korea intervened in a foreign conflict.

A commentary published in November by the Washington-based think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace suggested there would likely be some short-term benefits for Pyongyang, including receiving much-needed supplies from Russia, including food, oil and money.

The BBC also reported that Seoul's intelligence estimates that Russia pays North Korea $2,000 per soldier every month.

Edward Howell, Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, Al Jazeera said that Russia, for its part, would likely be open to North Korean soldiers joining its war in Ukraine because “we know Russia needs manpower.”

Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean soldiers on the war front.

While Pyongyang initially rejected the claims by the US, South Korea and Ukraine, a North Korean official has since said a deployment of this nature would be legal.

How many fighters have been sent and are they more likely to go?

At the end of October, The Pentagon claims that North Korea has sent about 10,000 soldiers to fight in the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky said Ukraine believes more North Korean troops will join the war in Ukraine.

“There are risks that North Korea will send additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army,” he posted on his X account on Monday after receiving a report to this effect from his top military commander Alexander Sirsky.

Have North Korea and Russia supported each other militarily in the past?

In June this year, Moscow and Pyongyang signed a mutual defense pact during Russian President Vladimir Putin's first state visit to North Korea in 24 years. That was it ratified in November.

Although the text of that agreement has not been released in full, it contains a clause calling on Russia and North Korea to provide military assistance if either is attacked.

This alarmed the US and its regional allies South Korea and Japan. In June, the three countries released a joint statement expressing “serious concern” above the pact.

The US, Ukraine and South Korea also allege that North Korea has supplied Russia with weapons, claims denied by Moscow and Pyongyang.