At least 100 North Koreans have died in the war in Ukraine, South Korea has said

At least 100 North Korean soldiers have been killed in the war in Ukraine since fighting on the side of Russia earlier this month, a member of South Korea’s parliament has said.

Lee Sung-kwon, speaking to reporters after the National Intelligence Service informed parliament, said another 1,000 were injured.

He said that among the wounded were high-ranking officials, and that could be explained by the soldiers’ lack of knowledge of the area, as well as drone warfare.

The first reports of North Korean casualties came earlier this week. In October it was revealed that the North had sent 10,000 troops to help the Russian army.

On Monday, a spokesman for the American Pentagon said that North Koreans had been killed, without specifying the number, and a day later an unnamed American official said that “several hundred” had been killed or wounded.

The BBC has not independently verified the claims.

The North Korean soldiers, none of whom will have any previous combat experience, are believed to have spent their first weeks in Russia training and supporting each other.

The accidents are thought to have taken place in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainians are defending a small area taken during the attack. surprise attack in August.

Last Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia has begun using “a large number” of North Koreans in its attack on Kursk.

They are not thought to have been deployed in Ukraine itself, where Russian troops have been advancing in the eastern part of the country in recent months.

Lee Sung-kwon said there were reports of preparations for the redeployment, and that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could oversee the training.

He cited intelligence officials as saying that the high number of casualties may have been caused by “an unfamiliar war zone, where North Korean troops are used as front-line assault units, and their lack of ability to counter drone attacks”.

“Within the Russian military, there have reportedly been complaints that North Korean troops, due to their lack of experience with drones, are more of a burden than an asset,” he added.

Neither Russia nor the North has accepted the military deployment, but a North Korean statement on Thursday carried by state news agency KCNA said the country’s alliance with Moscow “prevents the US and the West from an unintended escalation”.