Pyongyang is believed to have sent some 11,000 soldiers to help Putin’s army recapture a swathe of the Kursk region of Russia which Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise attack last summer. The Russian military has been gradually gaining ground in the attempt to force Ukrainian units out of Kursk.

North Korean troops have not been seen on the frontlines in Russia’s Kursk region for several weeks, a Ukrainian military official said Friday, amid reports of mass casualties among Pyongyang’s forces.

North Korean soldiers had been missing from combat, fueling speculation they were pulled back after taking heavy losses.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed North Korean troops had been redeployed to the Kursk region in western Russia following reports of massive troop losses.

North Korean Troops are "back on the Ukraine frontline" after their brutal meat grinder strategy left thousands slaughtered.

North Korean soldiers ‘brought in again’ on Kursk frontline as Putin admits ‘very difficult’ situation - Russian military bloggers say new Kursk attack came 'like a bolt from the blue’