Kiev:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that “several” wounded North Korean soldiers died after being captured by Ukrainian forces, as he accused Russia of throwing them into battle with “minimal protection”.
Ukraine and its Western allies say North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to support Russia's military, in what is seen as a major escalation in the nearly three-year war following Moscow's 2022 invasion.
“Today there were reports of several soldiers from North Korea. Our soldiers managed to capture them. But they were very seriously injured and could not be resuscitated,” Zelensky said in an evening speech on social media.
South Korea's spy agency said earlier on Friday that a North Korean soldier captured while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine had died of his wounds.
Zelenskiy did not specify how many North Koreans had died after being captured by Ukrainian forces.
Zelensky had previously said that nearly 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been “killed or injured” when they joined Russian forces in battle in the western Kursk border area, where Ukraine carried out a shock raid in August.
South Korean intelligence had previously estimated the number of North Koreans killed or injured at 1,000, saying the high number of casualties could be due to an unfamiliar battlefield environment and their lack of ability to counter drone attacks.
The White House on Friday confirmed the South Korean estimates, saying Pyongyang's troops were sent to their deaths in futile attacks by generals who consider them “expendable.”
“We also have reports of North Korean soldiers taking their own lives rather than surrender to Ukrainian forces, likely out of fear of reprisals against their families in North Korea if captured,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council. .
– Putin message to Kim –
North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A historic defense pact between Pyongyang and Moscow, signed in June, came into effect this month, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling it a “breakthrough document.”
North Korean state media said on Friday that Putin sent a New Year's message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying: “Bilateral ties between our two countries have been strengthened after our June talks in Pyongyang.”
Seoul's military believes that North Korea wanted to modernize its conventional warfare capabilities through combat experience gained during the war between Russia and Ukraine.
NATO chief Mark Rutte had also said Moscow provided support for Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs in exchange for the troops.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday that Pyongyang is reportedly “preparing for the rotation or additional deployment of soldiers” and providing “240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled artillery” to the Russian military.
Pyongyang's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine had prompted warnings from Seoul.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, currently suspended, said in November that Seoul would not rule out “the possibility of supplying weapons” to Kiev, which would mark a major shift from a long-standing policy that bans the sale of weapons to countries in active struggle forbids. conflict.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
