Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) said today that “at least 30 soldiers” from North Korea, fighting alongside the Russian army, were killed or wounded on Saturday and Sunday in Russia’s Kursk region, part of which it controls of the forces of Kiev.

“At least 30 soldiers were killed or wounded” over the weekend, Ukraine’s GUR said via Telegram, citing “significant casualties”.

According to the same source, these North Koreans were involved in fighting around the villages of Plekovo, Vorozba and Martynovka in Russia’s Kursk region, part of which has been held by Ukrainian forces since August.

Several thousand North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia in recent weeks to support the Russian military, according to Western sources. For its part, the Kremlin avoids questions on this issue every time, refusing to confirm the information. Pyongyang has neither confirmed nor denied sending troops.

Russia and North Korea have in recent months signed a mutual defense agreement – which came into effect in early December, according to Russian diplomacy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia were launching “attacks” in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine holds several hundred square kilometers. He also accused Moscow of taking the war “to another level”.

Ukraine has warned that Russia had mobilized around 50,000 troops, including several thousand North Koreans, to retake full control of the Kursk region.

In late November, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had stated that approximately 10,000 North Korean military personnel were in Russia’s Kursk region.

In early November, Zelensky stated that some North Korean soldiers had already taken part in hostilities and suffered casualties in Kursk.