9 that North Korea had suffered 4,000 soldiers killed or wounded while fighting for Russia against Ukraine. A week later, South Korea's intelligence agency placed North Korean losses at 300 killed and 2,700 injured. South Korea's intelligence agency placed North Korean losses at 300 killed and 2,700 injured. Though these claims cannot be independently verified, experts interviewed by the Kyiv Independent for this article believe the figures to be credible. This means that up to one-third of the 12,000-strong North Korean contingent sent to aid Russia's war have been killed or injured.But despite gaps in knowledge and experience, observers acknowledge that the North Koreans have proven to be committed, even fanatical fighters.As a testament of their will to fight and die in war a continent away, Ukraine has so far managed to capture only two North Korean soldiers — the others reportedly commit suicide or are killed by their comrades to avoid falling into captivity.A North Korean POW captured by Ukrainian forces during hostilities in Russia's Kursk Oblast, as seen in a photo published on Jan.