Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukraine's military agency on Monday (Dec 16) claimed that around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded in Russia's Kursk border region. This comes as the first reported casualties since Kyiv announced that Pyongyang has sent 10,000 troops to Russia to help in its war with Ukraine. 

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Pentagon and Ukraine have claimed that North Korean soldiers have been deployed to help Russia in its war with Ukraine. 

The North Korean units were involved in assaults on the weekend near three villages, according to Ukraine’s defence intelligence service. 

They added that three North Korean soldiers went missing during clashes near the villages of Pleskhovo, Vorozhba, and Martynovka close to the border.

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Meanwhile, earlier, a Ukrainian frontline drone unit posted a video on Sunday, showing the bodies of more than 20 North Korean soldiers lined up in an icy field. However, the quality of the video was not good enough to verify their identity, reported CNN. 

Also read: Ukraine's Zelensky says Russia using 'noticeable' number of North Korean soldiers in Kursk assaults

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that North Korean troops deployed to Kursk have been involved in the war. 

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North Korea's involvement in war 'dangerous expansion'

The US, ten other countries, and the EU, in a joint statement, called North Korea's growing involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine a "dangerous expansion". 

"Direct DPRK support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine marks a dangerous expansion of the conflict, with serious consequences for European and Indo-Pacific security," the statement said, referring to North Korea by its official acronym.

Watch | Russia-Ukraine War: Zelensky Accuses Russia Of Deploying North Korean Troops In Kursk

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The joint statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the high representative of the European Union. 

They added that they were "deeply concerned about any political, military, or economic support that Russia may be providing to the DPRK's illegal weapons programmes, including weapons of mass destruction."

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos

(With inputs from agencies)