Follow DW.South Korea's intelligence agency estimated around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 have been wounded in Russia's war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he's ready to hand over captured North Korean soldiers in return for Ukrainian soldiers held prisoner in Russia.

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.

Separately, Ukraine revealed more details about the first two North Korean soldiers it has captured alive and said it was willing to exchange them for Ukrainians held in Russia.

It comes after Ukraine released footage of two captured men, reportedly North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia.

South Korea's spy agency said over 3,000 North Korean soldiers sent to help Russia fight its war against Ukraine are likely to have been killed or injured. Two have been captured alive. Ukrainian Pres

North Korean troop fatalities and injuries in Ukraine have likely exceeded 3,000, including about 300 deaths and 2,700 injuries, a South Korean lawmaker briefed by the country's spy agency said on Monday.

Russia and North Korea have boosted their military ties since Moscow’s invasion. Read more at straitstimes.com.

North Korea warned Friday that it would exercise its right to self-defense "more intensively" as it condemned recent joint air drills among South Korea, the United States and Japan.

A South Korean lawmaker said Seoul's intelligence showed some 3,000 North Korean troops have been wounded or killed in Kursk.

North Korean troops have been taking part in active combat on Russia's side in the country's Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine has held territory since August. This unprecedented move, made against the backdrop of a deepening Moscow-Pyongyang alliance,