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.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the wounded North Korean soldiers were taken to Kyiv and are communicating with Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine said Saturday that it was questioning two wounded soldiers it claimed are North Koreans taken prisoner while fighting for Moscow in Russia's Kursk region."Our soldiers captured North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region.