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More than 100 elite North Korean troops were killed in their first battles in Russia, per South Korean intel.
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About 1,000 more were wounded in the fighting, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said.
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The troops are ill-prepared for drone attacks and the local terrain, the agency added.
More than 100 of North Korea’s best “Storm” troops have been killed and 1,000 more injured fighting alongside Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, South Korean intelligence said.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers on Thursday that the troops’ losses came in their first battles for Russia, The New York Times reported.
Lee Seong-kweun, a South Korean lawmaker, also told reporters that a general-ranking officer could be among the dead, the report said.
North Korean troops arrived in Russia in October. Ukraine said the following month that it attacked North Korean forces for the first time.
Since then, North Korean troop losses have mounted. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that based on preliminary estimates, over 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in Russia’s Kursk region.
North Korean troops are primarily fighting in that region, where Ukraine launched an offensive in August.
North Korea’s Storm Corps are among the most well-trained in Pyongyang’s military, as well as the most indoctrinated, the Times reported.
Despite that elite status, they were still not ready for the fight in Ukraine, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said.
The agency told lawmakers that they were poorly prepared for drone attacks and the local terrain.
It’s not the first time reports have suggested North Korea’s forces are ill-prepared for the war.
The BBC reported that the Storm troops get more advanced training than other soldiers, but they’re still underfed and some appear malnourished.
Ukrainian officials and soldiers have also said that North Korean troops have been killed by drones that they did not realize were dangerous.
Ukrainian intelligence previously reported that North Korean troops accidentally killed eight Russian soldiers in Kursk, describing it as a “friendly fire” incident caused by a language barrier.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers that North Korean troops were sent to Russia so quickly that Moscow could not properly integrate them into the military. They only learned a few military phrases in Russian, such as “open fire,” “artillery,” and “in position,” before being sent to battle.
But warfare experts warn that the troops’ potential impact should not be dismissed, especially given that Russia’s tactics have been to use poorly trained soldiers to overwhelm Ukraine.
For its part, Ukraine is reportedly trying to get North Korean troops to surrender, making videos and dropping leaflets on troops in a bid to get them to desert. It has also warned that Russia will treat North Korean troops like disposable cannon fodder, as it appears to have done with many of its own troops.
However, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said that North Korea appeared to be preparing to put more troops in Russia, the Times reported.
Zelenskyy also predicted that North Korean soldiers would be sent to the front lines in Ukraine at some point.
Read the original article on Business Insider
