The number of casualties among North Korean troops deployed on the Ukrainian front could reach up to 50% of the total deployed forces, according to an analysis by a U.S. security expert.
Seth Jones, director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), stated during an online discussion on the 4th local time that “although it’s difficult to know precisely, North Korean military casualties are estimated to range from one-third of the total deployed personnel to as high as 50%, with fatalities expected to be around a thousand.” He also noted that “if the scale of North Korean deployment is considered to be between 11,000 and 12,000 troops, this is a significant number of casualties.”
He pointed out that Russia is engaging in an attrition warfare, which entails a high number of casualties, to reclaim the occupied Kursk region in Ukraine.
He further explained that “from Vladimir Putin’s perspective, the political cost is not significant” because “most of the conventional forces are from Siberia, Central Asia, or prisons, rather than elite families from Moscow.”
Jones remarked, “this has been the way Russia has utilized North Korean troops,” and added that “according to conversations with Ukrainian forces, the North Korean soldiers deployed on the battlefield are fierce combatants prepared to die, but they are not well-organized and their cohesion with the Russian military leadership is weak.”
Regarding the prospect of ending the conflict, he expressed doubt, “there could be a ceasefire, but it does not seem like there will be an end to the war,” due to the differing stances between Russia and Ukraine.
[Photo credit: Yonhap News / CSIS Broadcast Capture]