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.

North Korean troops, unacknowledged by their own country, are getting chewed up in a vicious war in which, far from home, they are “cannon fodder” fighting anonymously on behalf of the Russians.

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.