Casualties among North Koreans assisting Russia ‘have surpassed 3,000’, according to South Korea’s intelligence agency. Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has revealed that the North Korean soldiers have “a lack of understanding of modern warfare” and are being used by Russia in a manner leading to “the high number of casualties,” a South Korean legislature added. The statement from the South Korean politician comes days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had captured two North Korean soldiers. Zelenskyy said Kyiv is “ready to hand over” the captured North Korean soldiers in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia. Seoul has previously claimed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent more than 10,000 soldiers as “cannon fodder” to help Moscow fight Kyiv, in return for Russian technical assistance for Pyongyang’s heavily sanctioned weapons and satellite programmes. Moreover, the soldiers, reportedly from North Korea’s elite Storm Corps, have been ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner.

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