About 4,700 North Korean soldiers killed or wounded fighting for Russia: South Korea

South Korea's spy agency reports 4,700 North Korean casualties in Russia-Ukraine conflict, raising concerns over military cooperation.

“An estimated 4,700 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded while fighting alongside Russia against Ukrainian forces,” South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Wednesday (April 20, 2025.)

The assessment came two days after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had sent combat troops to help Russia recapture parts of the Kursk region, which it lost control of to a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year.

“In a closed-door Parliamentary committee briefing, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said North Korea had suffered 4,700 casualties, including 600 deaths, on the Russia-Ukraine battlefronts,” according to Lee Seong Kweun, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.

North Korean soldiers ‘highly likely’ killed in Ukraine: Seoul

Mr. Lee told reporters the NIS said 2,000 injured North Korean soldiers were repatriated to North Korea by air or train between January and March. He cited the NIS as saying the dead North Korean soldiers were cremated in Russia before their remains were sent back home.

In January, the NIS said about 300 North Korean soldiers had died and another 2,700 had been injured, and the South Korean military increased the estimated casualties to 4,000 last month.

Putin thanks North Korea for sending its troops to fight Ukraine in Kursk region