Ukrainian military releases image of North Korean troops allegedly killed in Kursk: Report

Seoul, Dec 16 (IANS) The Ukrainian military has released photos and footage of what appear to be dozens of North Korean soldiers killed along with Russian troops in Russia's western Kursk border region, a Ukrainian media outlet has said.

Ukrainska Pravda reported Sunday, citing information from a drone unit, that the soldiers whose bodies were shown covered in snow were killed during assaults in the Russian region bordering Ukraine on Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported.

"The Madiar channel emphasised that this is a collaborative effort of FPV (first person view)-drone pilots of the 414th Unmanned Strike Aviation Systems Regiment, the Mahura Brigade, the 95th Air Assault Brigade, the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, the 1st Tank Brigade and the 17th Tank Brigade," the outlet said.

The details of the post shared on the drone unit's Telegram channel could not be verified immediately.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia could extend its deployment of North Koreans to other parts of the front line.

"We already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them," Zelenskyy said in an address.

"The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region. So far, only there. But we have information suggesting their use could extend to other parts of the front line," he said.

South Korea and the US have accused North Korea of sending thousands of soldiers to Russia, with some of them engaging in combat in the western Kursk border region.

Last month, it was reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a meeting with Russia's visiting Defence Minister and expressed his support for Russia's war efforts against Ukraine.

According to the Pyongyang's state media Kim had a "friendly and trustworthy" meeting with Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov on November 29 amid reports of North Korea sending thousands of its troops to Russia in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine.

In the meeting, Kim Jong-un condemned the US and the West for permitting Ukraine to use supplied long-range missiles for strikes against Russia, calling the move a "direct" military intervention, Yonhap reported.

Kim affirmed that "the DPRK government, army and people will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists' moves for hegemony," using the acronym of North Korea's official name.

North Korea and Russia have been bolstering military cooperation under a major Defence treaty signed in June that calls for providing military assistance "without delay" if either side comes under attack.