North Korean leader, KIM Jong-un, is increasing the number of troops being sent to assist Putin’s operations, despite already losing around 100 soldiers in the process, according to information gathered by South Korean intelligence agents.
Reports from South Korean intelligence indicate that in addition to the reported 100 fatalities among North Korean soldiers, approximately 1,000 others have been injured. This accounts for a significant portion of the estimated 11,000 troops that were initially dispatched by Kim’s regime to Russia.
Similar reports of “several hundreds of casualties” amongst the North Koreans have come from the White House and US military.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has now disclosed that Kim shows no signs of halting the deployment of more troops despite the casualties suffered, demonstrating a ruthless commitment to supporting his ally Putin, even at the cost of thousands of his own soldiers’ lives on foreign soil.
North Korean troops were confirmed on the front line for the first time at the weekend, after the first reports of them arriving in Russia back in October.
They were fighting mainly in the Kursk region of Russia, which is currently held by Ukraine.
The NIS attributes the high casualty rate to the fact that the North Koreans are fighting in “unfamiliar battlefields”.
They have very little experience of drone warfare, a key tactic of Ukraine, and so are being “consumed” like “canon fodder”.
The spy agency added that the Russian military had complained their North Korean comrades were a “burden” due to their “ignorance” of drones.
Video released earlier this week by the Ukrainian military shows drones decked out with Christmas toys including, reindeer and a Santa Clause, hunting down North Korean troops and picking them off with apparent ease.
A senior US military official said the DPRK troop’s injuries “would include everything from […] light wounds up to being KIA [killed in action],” and affect troops from lower-levels to “very near the top”.
He added: “These are not battle-hardened troops.
“They haven’t been in combat before,” which is “why they have been suffering the casualties that they have at the hands of the Ukrainians.”
The NIS also reported that Kim Jong-un is planning to himself inspect the training of the fresh troops that could be sent over.
A leaked audio recording of a phone call between a Russian nurse and her husband, allegedly intercepted by Ukraine’s security services, suggests Russia’s hospitals are crammed with North Korean casualties.
The conversation was between a nurse in the capital, Moscow, and her husband who is fighting in Kharkiv.
The woman can be heard saying: “Yesterday, there was a train with about 100 people.
“Today, 120 others, making 200.
“How many more are there?
“God only knows.”
Why is Kim helping Putin?
Patrick Harrington
Kim Jong-un is giving Putin military aid after the two leaders signed an agreement to assist each other earlier this year.
They vowed their countries would support each other in the face of “aggression” against either one.
This pact was reached during Putin’s visit to the North Korean capital Pyongyang, his first since 2000.
Kim said the agreement took their relationship to “a new, high level of alliance”.
Both leaders feel they are in conflict with the West, and that they form a stronger force working together.
Putin has felt increasingly threatened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, because Nato has given Ukraine increasing permission to use its heavy weapons.
Nato has also been expanding, with Finland and Sweden joining in 2022, leading to Putin feeling encircled and outnumbered.
He will feel that he needs to nurture all of his ally relationships in the increasingly tense global context.
The woman complains that injured North Korean troops have flooded the hospitals, leaving Russians to be treated in worse conditions.
The frustrated nurse explains that the language barrier causes problems and Kim’s men don’t speak any Russian, and the medics are not allowed to use English – only a dodgy online translator.
This week there were reports North Korean troops accidentally killed eight of Putin’s troops after opening fire on them, unaware they were Russian as they couldn’t understand what they were saying.
Another video released by the Ukrainian military claims to show the bodies of scores of dead Russian and North Korean soldiers stacked together in the snow.
President Zelensky said there was evidence that Russian troops had even been scorching the faces of slaughtered North Koreans in order to hide their losses.
He said: “Russia is not only involving North Korean soldiers in assaults on Ukrainian positions but also trying to hide the losses of these people.
“After the battles with our guys, the Russians are also trying to… literally burn the faces of the killed North Korean soldiers.
“This is a demonstration of the contempt that now reigns in Russia—contempt for everything human.
“There is no reason for Koreans to fight and die for Putin.
“And even after their death, all that awaits them from Russia is mockery.”
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