More than 2,000 North Korean soldiers killed in Ukraine as Putin's war plan in tatters

Many more North Korean troops were killed fighting for Vladimir Putin than previously believed. A new analysis by South Korean intelligence puts the figure at around 2,000.

The grim findings, revealed to parliamentarians in Seoul, comes as Kim Jong Un is due to meet Putin in China. The North Korean dictator was today travelling on his armoured train to attend a military parade in Beijing commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Putin is already in China.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it has increased its estimate after a "comprehensive review".

Earlier, the secret service estimated around 600 dead and an estimated 4,700 casualties.

Since October last year, North Korea has sent around 13,000 troops and conventional weapons to back Putin.

Many of the North Koreans died fighting in Russia's Kursk region, which Ukraine had invaded.

The NIS shared its new estimate in a closed-door meeting with lawmakers, said politicians Park Sun-won and Lee Seong-kweun.

Pyongyang is planning to send 6,000 more soldiers to Russia, while around 1,000 combat engineers have already arrived.

Kim has been seen hugging survivors and offering condolences to the families of soldiers who he sent to die for Putin.

He appeared moved by the anguish.

At one event last month, he said: "The reality that we can now meet the noble figures only through the photographs on the memorial wall - those who dedicated their precious lives for great victory and glory - makes my heart ache and fills me with bitter pain," said the authoritarian leader.

"Standing before the bereaved families of the sacrificed soldiers, I do not know how to express the sorrow and regret of not having been able to protect their precious sons, entrusted to us while their lives were still so green and young."