Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that Russia was trying to "conceal losses" of North Korean troops fighting against Ukraine.

A North Korean soldier who was captured while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine has died of his wounds, South Korea's spy agency said Friday. Pyongyang has deployed thousands of troops to reinforce Russia's military, including in the Kursk border region where Ukraine mounted a shock border incursion in August.

A North Korean soldier captured by Ukrainian forces for the first time in the Russo-Ukraine War has died of wounds, sources from both Kyiv and Seoul claimed Friday.

While some Western officials initially viewed the arrival of North Korean soldiers in Russia as evidence of the Kremlin’s desperation, U.S. agencies now reportedly believe the idea was North Korea’s initiative,

North Korea has supplied Russia with thousands of troops to fight against Ukraine, intelligence officials said, but old footage that has resurfaced on social media does not show the funeral of a general deployed by Pyongyang to lead its troops in the ongoing invasion.

South Korea's spy agency said Friday it had confirmed that a North Korean soldier sent to back Russia's war against Ukraine had been captured by Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine's military intelligence says that North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in the Kursk region and are facing logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks

The soldier is believed to be the first North Korean prisoner of war captured since December, when Pyongyang deployed forces to support Russia's war in Ukraine. The confirmation comes after a photo purporting to show the wounded soldier circulated on Telegram.

Ukraine's military intelligence said Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka inflicted heavy casualties on North Korean units. It said North Korean troops also faced supply issues and even shortages of drinking water.