Around 2,000 North Korean servicemen sent to Russia to participate in combat operations in Ukraine have been killed, South Korean lawmakers said citing intelligence data, Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service also indicated that Pyongyang plans to additionally send approximately 6,000 soldiers to Russia as part of a third batch of troops to assist Moscow in its war against Ukraine. The intelligence suggests that about 1,000 combat engineers have already arrived in Russia.

According to intelligence data, existing troops are deployed “in the rear as reserve forces,” Yonhap reported.

Since October last year, North Korea has sent approximately 13,000 military personnel to support Russia’s military operations. North Korea itself reported that during the first and second stages of troop deployment to Russia, it lost about 350 soldiers.

The latest casualty figures represent a significant increase from previous estimates. In late April 2025, a South Korean lawmaker, citing intelligence data, said that around 600 North Koreans had been killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine, particularly while participating in military operations in Russia’s Kursk region.

In June, North Korean state media showed footage of the country’s leader Kim Jong Un mourning his soldiers who reportedly died during Russia’s war against Ukraine. In August, Kim Jong Un awarded soldiers and commanders of his army who participated in battles in the Kursk Oblast on the side of Russian forces and met with families of the deceased.

The intelligence assessment suggests North Korea’s military involvement in the war continues to expand despite mounting casualties among its forces.

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