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.

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.

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

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

Ukraine said Saturday that it was questioning two wounded soldiers it claimed are North Koreans taken prisoner while fighting for Moscow in Russia's Kursk region."Our soldiers captured North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region.

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

Kyiv, the United States and South Korea have accused nuclear-armed North Korea of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine.

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,