At least 100 North Korean soldiers have been killed in fighting in the Ukraine war since entering the fighting on the Russian side earlier this month, a South Korean lawmaker has said.
Lee Sung-kwon, speaking to reporters after parliament was briefed by the country's National Intelligence Service, said another 1,000 had been injured.
He said the casualties included high-ranking officials and could be explained by the troops' lack of familiarity with the terrain and drone warfare.
The first reports of North Korean casualties came earlier this week. In October, news broke that North Korea had sent 10,000 troops to aid Russia's war effort.
On Monday a Pentagon spokesman said the North Koreans had been killed, without giving a number, and a day later an unnamed US official said there were "several hundred" killed or wounded.
The North Korean troops, none of whom will have had any previous combat experience, are believed to have spent their first weeks in Russia in training and then in support roles.
The casualties are believed to have occurred in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainians are defending a small swath of territory captured during a surprise incursion in August.
Last Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had begun using a "significant number" of North Koreans in its Kursk offensive.
They are not thought to be based in Ukraine itself, where Russian troops have advanced into eastern parts of the country in recent months.
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