North Korean troops appear to have withdrawm from Russia’s Kursk region in a blow to Putin (Image: Getty)
North Korean troops have made a humiliating retreat from Russia’s Kursk region in a blow to .
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has confirmed Pyongyang’s troops were withdrawn from the frontline in January, according to reports.
An estimated late last year after turned the tables on Putin by launching an offensive in ‘s Kursk region.
South Korea’s spy agency believes and another 2,700 injured while fighting against Ukrainian forces.
North Korea’s involvement in the war marks the country’s first involvement in a large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Lee Seong Kweun, a member of South Korea’s National Assembly, has said North Korean troops have been thrown into the fighting without supporting rear fire by Russian commanders.
:
Russia is battling Ukraine in the Kursk region. (Image: Getty)
Mr Lee, citing South Korea’s spy agency, said memos found on dead North Korean soldiers indicated they had been ordered to commit suicide before being captured.
The agency said one North Korean soldier threatened with capture by Ukrainian forces shouted, “General Kim Jong Un”, and tried to detonate a hand grenade before he was shot dead.
Experts at the National Intelligence Service believe North Korean troops have struggled in the face of drones and other elements of modern warfare.
South Korea’s intelligence service has said the North’s casualty figures played a part in the decision to withdraw the troops from Kursk.
Political scientist Seth Jones from the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies told a podcast this week that as many as half of North Korean troops have been killed or injured in the – conflict.
Don’t miss… [REPORT] [REVEALED]
Ukrainian troops pose with gear seized from North Korean troops (Image: Getty)
He is reported by the as telling a podcast cited by Yonhap news agency: “The casualty rates were significant. By most accounts we were able to take a look at somewhere between a third and probably on the real high end, maybe 50% casualties among the North Korean forces.
“Again, [it is] hard to know exactly what [the] reality is… with as many as 1,000 killed. Those are pretty staggering casualties for a force of 11,000 [to] 12,000.”
Moon Seong Mook, a retired South Korean brigadier general, has said previously that the high death toll for North Korean soldiers was predictable as they wouldn’t have been sufficiently prepared for an unfamiliar mission in Kursk’s terrain, which is different from North Korea’s mountainous landscape.
North Korea’s involvement in the war prompted concerns in Seoul that participation in posed a significant threat to South Korea, as North Korean forces could gain combat experience and may provide technology transfers which could enhance North Korea’s nuclear-armed army.