South Korea’s military says it suspects North Korea is preparing to send additional troops to Russia after its soldiers already deployed on the Russian-Ukraine war fronts suffered heavy casualties.

North Korea has not responded to reports of its troops captured or killed by Ukraine forces. It has never publicised the deployment or large shipments of North Korean artillery shells and other weapons sent to Russia to help its war against Ukraine, although they marked the country’s first intervention in a major armed conflict overseas in decades.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s willing to hand over the soldiers to North Korea, if Kim Jong Un arranges for an exchange with Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia.

Ukrainian soldiers captured North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk Oblast. Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Quote: "These are two soldiers who, although they sustained injuries, survived, were taken to Kyiv and are talking to investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine.

The report highlights that North Korean soldiers have developed unique battlefield tactics, such as using a soldier as bait to shoot down drones or detonating grenades, holding it under the neck with one hand on the pin when the Ukrainian military approaches to avoid capture when severely wounded.

Ukraine has captured two injured North Korean soldiers from the battlefield in Russia’s Kursk region and transferred them to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday.

Soldiers of the 8th Regiment of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces resisted a North Korean assault in Russia’s Kursk Oblast for eight hours before retreating, killing 21 and wounding 40 soldiers, the unit said on Jan.

The Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published a report on the assault by North Korean soldiers on Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region. Intense fighting lasted several hours,