North Korean troops have been deployed to bolster Russian forces in the Kursk border region with Ukraine, where they are gaining battlefield experience despite initial heavy losses.

The wounded fighters were taken to Kyiv for questioning, authorities said, where they could reveal details of Pyongyang’s cooperation with Moscow.

Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers alive after they were wounded while fighting for Russia, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Saturday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine's forces have captured two North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian troops in Russia’s Kursk border region.

Ukrainian troops captured two North Korean soldiers as prisoners of war (POWs) in Russia's Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 11. "This task was not easy," he said in a Telegram post.

Two wounded North Korean soldiers have been captured as prisoners of war by Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday. The two men are receiving "necessary medical assistance" and are in the custody of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Kyiv, according to Zelensky.

Ukraine, US, and South Korea accuse North Korea of sending soldiers to aid Russia, with captured soldiers confirmed.

North Korea is learning valuable lessons from fighting against Ukraine, making it an increased threat to its neighbors, a US official said. In recent months, North Korea has sent around 12,000 troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine as part of a new security pact between its leader,

North Korea's latest missile test and its growing military ties with Russia has sparked unease among UN council members.

Pyongyang might have acquired advanced missile technology from Moscow in exchange for its involvement in the war, analysts say North Korea could raise its army's deployment to support Russia's war in Ukraine to as many as 100,

The United States warned on Wednesday that North Korea is benefiting from its troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, gaining experience that makes Pyongyang “more capable of waging war against its neighbors.