Over 12,000 North Korean troops are estimated to be fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Camille Shea told the United Nations Security Council last week.

There is mounting evidence from the battlefield, intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors that some North Korean soldiers are resorting to extreme measures as they support Russia's three-year war with Ukraine.

Ukraine has found “irrefutable evidence” of North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war against his country, president Volodymyr Zelensky said this week as he announced the capture of two North Korean soldiers.

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.

North Korea has instructed its soldiers fighting in Russia and Ukraine to commit suicide in the face of capture, and evidence suggests they're doing as told, according to South Korean and Ukrainian officials.

North Korean troops stationed in Russia’s Kursk region have reportedly been instructed to commit suicide rather than risk being captured.

North Korean troops have been deployed to bolster Russian forces in the Kursk border region with Ukraine, where they are gaining battlefield experience despite initial heavy losses.