South Korea’s intelligence service had beforehand put the variety of killed or wounded North Koreans at 1,000, saying the excessive casualty charge might be all the way down to an unfamiliar battlefield surroundings and their lack of functionality to counter drone assaults.
Pyongyang’s troopers have been additionally being “utilised as expendable frontline assault models”, lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun mentioned, talking final week after a briefing by South Korea’s spy company.
“DANGEROUS EXPANSION”
North Korea and Russia have strengthened their navy ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A landmark defence pact between Pyongyang and Moscow signed in June got here into drive this month, with Russian President Vladimir Putin hailing it as a “breakthrough doc”.
North Korean state media mentioned 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 known as Pyongyang’s rising involvement in Russia’s battle in Ukraine a “harmful enlargement” of the battle.
Seoul’s navy believes that North Korea was searching for to modernise its typical warfare capabilities by way of fight expertise gained within the Russia-Ukraine battle.
