North Korean troops participating in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk Oblast are experiencing critically high casualty rates. If the situation remains unchanged, the entire contingent of 12,000 servicemen could be killed or wounded in action by mid-April 2025.

North Korea's deployment to Russia is its first major involvement in a war since the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea reportedly sent a much smaller contingent to the Vietnam War and to the civil conflict in Syria. The United States has warned the experience in Russia will make North Korea "more capable of waging war against its neighbours".

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported that more than 300 North Korean soldiers were killed fighting against Ukraine, while more than 2,700 were injured.

In a statement posted on X, Zelenskyy said he had instructed Ukraine's security service to allow journalists access to the captured soldiers.

Over 12,000 North Korean troops are estimated to be fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, the United Nations Security Council learned last week.

North Korean troops have been taking part in active combat on Russia's side in the country's Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine has held territory since August. This unprecedented move, made against the backdrop of a deepening Moscow-Pyongyang alliance,