Latest news with #LeeSeong-kweun
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Korea sends nearly 15,000 migrants to Russia to cover labor market shortage, WSJ reports
North Korea sent about 15,000 labor migrants to Russia to cover the labor market shortage in the country, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on May 5, citing South Korean intelligence. The move represents an apparent violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions passed in the wake of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests. North Korea has been one of Russia's staunchest supporters since the start of the full-scale war. The economic and military cooperation has only deepened, and the two countries ratified a mutual defense treaty in November. The lack of workers in Russia is due to heavy losses in the country's war against Ukraine, low birth rates, and the fleeing of citizens abroad, the WSJ reported, citing Western estimates. By 2030, the country's labor shortage could reach 2.4 million people, compared to the current 1.5 million, according to the Russian Labor Ministry. To compensate, Russia has begun to attract workers from the allied country, who are now mostly working in the Far East. In the meantime, the Russian authorities hope that North Korean workers will soon appear in large cities in other regions. Russian employers value North Korean workers because they are willing to work 12 hours for low wages and do not complain about working conditions, according to the media. Many North Korean workers came to Russia on student visas. In 2024, North Korean nationals crossed the Russian border 7,887 times, allegedly to study, the Russian independent outlet Mediazona reported on Feb. 4, citing the Border Services of the Russian Federal Security Service. This is the largest number since 2019. The number of students from North Korea began to grow in the third quarter of 2024, according to Mediazona. Meanwhile, in April 2024, the Russian Education Ministry reported that nearly 130 students from North Korea were studying in the country at that time. Apart from workers, North Korea sends its military and weapons to Russia. In 2024, 12,000 North Korean troops arrived in Russia to participate in the war against Ukraine, and in 2025, another 3,000 arrived, according to South Korean intelligence. Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed while fighting alongside Russian forces, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun said on April 30, citing briefings from the country's National Intelligence Service. Read also: Who are Russia's allies, and can Kremlin's war machine survive without them? We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Times
North Koreans ‘more proficient', despite deaths, after fighting Ukraine
North Korean troops have gained learnt valuable lessons from fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, South Korea has reported, despite them suffering 600 deaths. In a briefing for South Korean MPs, the National Intelligence Service said that 4,700 North Koreans had been killed or injured in the Kursk region of Russia, where President Putin's forces have largely fought off a Ukrainian incursion. 'Combat capability has significantly improved,' Lee Seong-kweun, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, said after the briefing. 'After six months of participation in the war, early inexperience has diminished and they have become more proficient in using new weapon systems, including drones.' Some 15,000 North Korean troops were sent to Russia in two tranches, the intelligence agency reported, a fact only acknowledged by
CBC
30-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Hundreds of North Korean troops killed while fighting Ukraine, Seoul says
Social Sharing About 600 North Korean troops have been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine out of a total deployment of 15,000, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday, citing the country's intelligence agency. North Korea has suffered some 4,700 casualties so far, including injuries and deaths, though its troops have shown signs of improved combat capabilities over about six months by using modern weapons like drones, the lawmakers said. In return for dispatching troops and supplying weapons to Russia, Pyongyang appears to have received technical assistance on spy satellites, as well as drones and anti-air missiles, they said. "After six months of participation in the war, the North Korean military has become less inept, and its combat capability has significantly improved as it becomes accustomed to using new weapons such as drones," Lee Seong-kweun, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters, after being briefed by South Korea's National Intelligence Service. Pyongyang earlier this week confirmed for the first time that it had sent troops to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine under orders from leader Kim Jong Un and that it had helped regain control of Russian territory occupied by Ukraine. North Korea's unprecedented deployment of thousands of troops, as well as massive amounts of artillery ammunition and missiles, gave Russia a crucial battlefield advantage in the western Kursk region and has brought the two economically and politically isolated countries closer. WATCH | Ukraine says video shows captured North Korean soldiers being questioned in Kyiv: 2 captured North Korean soldiers interrogated in Kyiv, Ukraine says 4 months ago Duration 1:48 Ukraine has released a short video that it says are of two North Korean soldiers being questioned in Kyiv after being taken as prisoners of war in Kursk, Russia. Lee, the lawmaker, added that bodies of dead North Korean soldiers were cremated in Kursk before being shipped back home. Pyongyang is also believed to have sent about 15,000 workers to Russia, said the lawmakers, citing intelligence assessments.
News24
30-04-2025
- Politics
- News24
600 North Korea troops killed, among 4 700 casualties fighting for Russia
North Korean casualties are estimated at 4 700, said a South Korean official. It added that about 600 had died fighting for Russia. North Korea received technical support from Russia in return, said South Korea. Around 600 North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia against Ukraine have been killed and thousands more wounded, a Seoul lawmaker said on Wednesday, after Pyongyang officially confirmed deploying troops to aid Moscow. "So far, North Korean troop casualties are estimated at around 4 700, including approximately 600 deaths," MP Lee Seong-kweun, a member of parliament's intelligence committee, told reporters after a briefing by the country's spy agency. North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday that it had deployed troops to Russia, with state news agency KCNA reporting Pyongyang's soldiers helped Moscow reclaim territory under Ukrainian control in the Russian border region of Kursk. Moscow had separately confirmed the North's participation, after months of official silence from both countries, even as Seoul and Washington accused Pyongyang of sending ever more troops and weapons to help. READ | North Korea sends an extra 3 000 troops to help Russia fight Ukraine war Some 2 000 soldiers have been taken back to nuclear-armed North Korea this year, Lee said, and were now reportedly being held in isolation in Pyongyang and at other locations across the country. "It is understood that the bodies of fallen soldiers were cremated locally in Kursk before being transported," back to the North, he added. AFP North Korea "supported Russia's recapture of Kursk by deploying 18 000 troops in two phases", Lee said, adding that the number of clashes in the area had decreased since around March. Since then, "there have been reports of misconduct within North Korean forces, including excessive drinking and theft," he said. South Korea has repeatedly slammed the troop deployment, and criticised the North for sending container-loads of weapons, including missiles, to aid Russia's war against Ukraine. The nuclear-armed North has received significant technical support from Russia in return, Seoul claimed. In addition, after six months of fighting, Seoul's National Intelligence Service estimates that the North Korean forces' "combat capability has significantly improved", Lee said. He said: Early inexperience has diminished and they have become more proficient in using new weapon systems, including drones. Lee said it was not possible to "entirely rule out" that the North could send more soldiers to Russia. The troops sent to Russia, reportedly from North Korea's elite Storm Corps, have been ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, Seoul has previously said. Moscow and Pyongyang have boosted their military cooperation since Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. AFP The two countries signed a sweeping military deal in 2024, including a mutual defence clause, when Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to North Korea. Pyongyang launched a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions. Experts have warned that the nuclear-armed North may be testing weapons for export to Russia for use against Ukraine.
Fox News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
600 North Korean troops killed while fighting Ukraine, South Korea says
Roughly 600 North Korean troops have been killed fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday, citing the country's intelligence agency. North Korea has suffered about 4,700 casualties in the conflict, which includes deaths and injuries. But some of the country's troops have shown signs of improvement in combat capabilities over about six months by using modern weapons such as drones, the lawmakers said. "After six months of participation in the war, the North Korean military has become less inept, and its combat capability has significantly improved as it becomes accustomed to using new weapons such as drones," Lee Seong-kweun, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters, after being briefed by South Korea's National Intelligence Service. A total of about 15,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to fight Ukraine. Under a defense treaty that was signed last year, Pyongyang agreed to deploy troops and supply weapons to Russia in exchange for technical assistance on spy satellites, as well as drones and anti-air missiles, the lawmakers said. Earlier this week, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had sent troops to fight Ukrainian forces. It claims it has helped Russia retake its Kursk territory that was controlled by Ukraine. North Korea's Central Military Commission said on Monday that the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, had sent troops to Russia to "annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces." North Korean troops eventually made "an important contribution" to Russia seizing the border territory, the commission said. Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea for sending troops and promised not to forget their sacrifices. "The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the DPRK special forces," Putin said on Monday. "We will always honor the heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our common freedom, fighting side by side with their Russian brothers in arms." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia could provide military assistance to North Korea if necessary in accordance with the defense treaty. The two U.S. adversaries have moved significantly closer to each other in recent years. Lee said the remains of dead North Korean soldiers were cremated in Kursk before being shipped back home. North Korea is also believed to have sent about 15,000 workers to Russia, according to the lawmakers, citing intelligence assessments. U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday he doubts Putin wants to end the war. Just a day before, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were "very close to a deal."
