South Korea's National Intelligence Service has reportedly confirmed that North Korea has withdrawn its troops from the frontline in Russia's Kursk region after entering the war late last year

Ukraine's president has said North Korean forces have returned to the front line in Russia's western Kursk region, after reports they had recently been withdrawn due to heavy casualties.

Pyongyang is believed to have sent some 11,000 soldiers to help Putin’s army recapture a swathe of the Kursk region of Russia which Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise attack last summer. The Russian military has been gradually gaining ground in the attempt to force Ukrainian units out of Kursk.