North Korean troops deployed in Russia's Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

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 first North Korean soldier taken prisoner of war by Ukrainian forces while fighting for Russia has died of his injuries, South Korean intelligence said Friday.

"There are risks of North Korea sending additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army," Zelenskiy said on X after receiving a report from his top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi. "We will have tangible responses to this,

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

By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) -North Korean forces are experiencing mass casualties on the front lines of Russia's war against Ukraine, with a thousand of their troops killed or wounded in the last week alone in Russia's Kursk region,

Ukrainian troops have captured a North Korean soldier and Russian materials in Kursk as the battle between the warring countries intensifies.