South Korea’s intelligence service had beforehand put the variety of killed or wounded North Koreans at 1,000, saying the excessive casualty fee could possibly be right down to an unfamiliar battlefield setting and their lack of functionality to counter drone assaults.
Pyongyang’s troopers had been additionally being “utilised as expendable frontline assault units”, lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun stated, talking final week after a briefing by South Korea’s spy company.
“DANGEROUS EXPANSION”
North Korea and Russia have strengthened their army ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A landmark defence pact between Pyongyang and Moscow signed in June got here into pressure this month, with Russian President Vladimir Putin hailing it as a “breakthrough doc”.
North Korean state media stated on Friday that Putin despatched a New Yr’s message to North Korean chief Kim Jong Un, saying “the bilateral ties between our two international locations have been elevated after our talks in June in Pyongyang”.
Ukraine’s allies have referred to as Pyongyang’s rising involvement in Russia’s battle in Ukraine a “harmful growth” of the battle.
Seoul’s army believes that North Korea was searching for to modernise its typical warfare capabilities by way of fight expertise gained within the Russia-Ukraine battle.