Leaked: shocking number of North Korean casualties in Ukraine revealed
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A special armoured train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the border into China early on Tuesday as he headed to Beijing to attend a military parade, marking his debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage. As Kim crossed the border into China, the South Korean intelligence agency claimed at least 2,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed in the Ukraine war, according to Yonhap News.
Kim to attend Beijing military parade
Kim, who departed North Korea’s capital Pyongyang on Monday, is expected to reach Beijing later on Tuesday, local time, as the journey spans around 1,300 kilometres (807 miles) and usually takes between 20 and 24 hours, Anadolu News Agency wrote.
Kim, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be among the state leaders from 26 countries attending a military parade in the Chinese capital on Wednesday. The event will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which China marks as its victory over Japan.
It will mark the first time Kim will be participating in a multilateral diplomatic event since taking power in late 2011. China’s President Xi Jinping will address the parade.
Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, the founder and first leader of North Korea, attended such a military parade in Beijing in 1959.
2,000 North Korean soldiers killed in Ukraine war, claims Seoul
As Kim crossed the border into China, the South Korean intelligence agency claimed at least 2,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed in the Ukraine war, according to Yonhap News. The latest claim came after North Korea last month held two ceremonies to honour its fallen soldiers during the Ukraine war.
Pyongyang had deployed thousands of soldiers to Russia to aid its fight against Kyiv, which has drawn support from Western nations. Pyongyang held two ceremonies, including one in which it displayed portraits of 101 soldiers on a memorial wall, and in the second ceremony, the families of dead soldiers were given the portraits. Pyongyang gave no specific number of fallen soldiers.
Last Friday, the Korean Central Television (KRT) released footage showing North Korean soldiers fighting against Russian troops in Russia’s Kursk region. In June, Ukraine claimed it still controlled 90 square kilometres of Russian territory in the area. The first North Korean troops arrived there in October, following an agreement between President Putin and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.