Leaked voice recordings have revealed the scale of wounded North Korean soldiers being sent by the trainload to hospitals in Moscow.
The recordings have revealed that “several hundred” of the troops have been either killed or wounded in the Kursk region.
South Korean MP Lee Sung-Kwon told reporters that around 1,000 Pyongyang’s troops have been killed fighting Vladimir Putin’s war.
Lee-Sung-Kwon said, quoted by the BBC, “Within the Russian military, complaints have reportedly surfaced that the North Korean troops, due to their lack of knowledge about drones, are more of a burden than an asset.”
Ukraine’s security service intercepted the messages between a nurse based in a Russian hospital and her husband who is currently in Kharkiv, she told her husband that hundreds are in Moscow’s hospitals.
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She said, “Yesterday there was a train with about 100 people. Today, 120 others, making 200. How many more are there? God only knows.”
She then said there is a language barrier between North Korean troops and Russian medics. This is causing further problems as medical staff are using an online translators to speak to the soldiers.
“Are they elite, or what, these Koreans? We are freeing up certain wards for them,” she added.
A senior US military officer has also said “several hundred” North Korean troops have been wounded or killed in the Kursk.
The official said, “Several hundred casualties is our latest estimate that the DPRK has suffered.”
This “would include everything from… light wounds up to being KIA [killed in action].”
Those who were wounded are of low-ranks to “very near the top,” he added, “These are not battle-hardened troops. They haven’t been in combat before.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that North Korean soldiers are being burnt to hide Vladimir Putin’s losses.
He said, “Russia is not only involving North Korean soldiers in assaults on Ukrainian positions but also trying to hide the losses of these people.
“After the battles with our guys, the Russians are also trying to… literally burn the faces of the killed North Korean soldiers. This is a demonstration of the contempt that now reigns in Russia – contempt for everything human.
“There is no reason for Koreans to fight and die for Putin.”
Zelensky said that the true number will be difficult to know as Russian troops are tying to hide the casualty numbers.
