The press representative of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskovasked today about the casualties of North Korean soldiers in his area Kursk, referred the reporter to the Ministry of Defense.

“This question is for the Ministry of Defense” Peskov said according to the Interfax agency.

Earlier the intelligence services of the Ukrainian army (GUR) had stated 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 is held by Kiev forces.

“At least 30 soldiers were killed or wounded” over the weekend, Ukraine’s GUR said in a post on the Telegram app, citing “significant losses”.

It is the first time that Kiev claims, in a statement, that North Korea has losses on this scale and in detail. He specifically mentions that the losses occurred around the villages Plekhovo, Vorozba and Martynovka in the Kursk region. He provided no evidence.

The data could not be independently verified.

Several thousand North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia in recent weeks to support the Russian military, according to Westerners, with the Kremlin avoiding questions on the matter.

Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Koreans on its side. Pyongyang initially dismissed reports of the troop deployment as “fake news”but a North Korean official said any such deployment would be legal.