Officials of South Korea and Western countries have revealed a new fact that 40 percent of the North Korean soldiers who served in the Russia-Ukraine war were killed. About 11,000 to 12,000 North Korean soldiers arrived in the Kursk region to help the Russian army about three months ago.

It has been revealed that more than 4,000 of the soldiers sent to fight by North Korea have died. It is reported that some soldiers are injured, missing and hostages. According to South Korean officials, 1,000 soldiers were killed by the second week of January. Western officials say they do not know where the injured North Korean soldier is being treated.

A week ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that two wounded North Korean soldiers were captured by the Ukrainian army in the Kursk Oblast of Russia. The North Korean troops that went to help Russia in the war against Ukraine have reached the control of Ukraine for the first time. 

On October 28, the Pentagon announced that North Korea had sent troops to help Russia in the Ukraine war. 'We are confident that North Korea will train in Eastern Russia  At least 10,000 soldiers have been sent. Those soldiers will probably help the Russian army in the Ukraine war,' said Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary of the Pentagon.

'Part of those soldiers have already reached the Ukrainian territory . Russia may use those soldiers in combat or against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk Oblast, which borders Ukraine. We are worried that they want to use it in battle,' she said.

Before that, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said that at least 3,000 North Korean soldiers had reached Russia. The South Korean intelligence agency said that 1100 North Korean troops were deployed in the first phase of the war against Ukraine.

Two months after the US, South Korea and NATO reported that the North Korean soldiers had gone to Russia, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that the North Korean soldiers had been captured and wounded. Zelensky stated that the two wounded soldiers who were arrested are in the custody of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the capital city of Kiev and are receiving necessary medical assistance. 

According to the BBC, Zelensky said he was grateful to Ukrainian paratroopers and special operations forces for capturing the North Koreans. "It was not an easy task," Zelensky said. He claims that Russia and North Korean soldiers executed the injured North Korean to erase evidence of North Korea's involvement in the war against Ukraine.

The Ukrainian intelligence service said the soldier was arrested in January and was "provided with all necessary medical assistance in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and taken to Kyiv". "They are being held in accordance with international law," the intelligence service said in a statement.

According to the intelligence service, those prisoners of war cannot speak Ukrainian, English or Russian. "So they are communicated with through Korean translators with the help of the South Korean NIS (National Intelligence Service)," the Ukrainian intelligence service said in a statement. 

In a message posted on Telegram and X, Zelensky stated that the captured soldiers were communicating with SBU investigators and had instructed journalists to have access. "The world needs to know the truth about what's going on," Zelensky wrote.

In a statement released by Zelensky's office, Russia is "trying to hide the fact that they are North Korean soldiers". 'But those arrested are actually Koreans, they are from North Korea,'  It is said in a statement issued by the President's Office.

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny the use of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine. In response to the question, he said that it was Russia's "sovereign decision".

Last December, South Korea's intelligence agency reported that a North Korean soldier deployed in the Ukraine war had died after being captured by the Ukrainian army. He was said to be the first North Korean prisoner of war to die during the Ukraine war.

The White House of the US President's Office said that a large number of North Korean soldiers were killed in the Ukraine war. The White House claims that at least 1,000 North Korean troops have been killed or injured in Ukraine.

But South Korean officials have said that the number of North Korean soldiers who died in the Ukraine war has reached at least 1100. The South Korean intelligence agency reported to lawmakers that at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed by December 18. But a week later, another 1,000 North Korean soldiers were killed by the intelligence agency.

'Through various sources of information and intelligence, we have estimated that approximately 1,100 North Korean soldiers have been killed in recent fighting with the Ukrainian army,' the South Korean military chief said in a statement. 

South Korea has said that more North Korean soldiers are likely to be deployed to help Russia. It is said that Pyongyang is preparing to recall all its soldiers or deploy more soldiers. South Korean intelligence claims that North Korea is 'producing and providing self-destructive drones' to further aid Russia in its fight against Ukraine. 

The North has provided 240-mm rocket launchers and 170-mm self-propelled artillery for the Russian military. The South claims that North Korea is aiming to modernize its conventional war capabilities based on combat experience in the Russia-Ukraine war and that this could increase its military threat. 

North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support the Russian army in the Ukraine war. South Korea and the United States claim that most of them are deployed in the Kursk region, which was captured by the Ukrainian army at the beginning of this year.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the military relationship between North Korea and Russia has strengthened . The historic defense agreement signed between Pyongyang and Moscow last June has been in effect since December. According to experts, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is willing to acquire advanced technology and war experience for his soldiers from Russia.