South Korean and US intelligence services have confirmed the participation of North Korean soldiers in hostilities in Russia, particularly in Kursk Oblast. Source: ISW Details: South Korea's National Intelligence Service reported on 13 November that North Korean troops were participating in hostilities in Russia,

According to assessments by the National Intelligence Service, North Korean forces deployed to Russia have moved to Kursk Oblast over the past two weeks,” intelligence officials noted. North Korean soldiers have now completed battlefield deployment and are actively engaged in combat.

North Korean soldiers have begun fighting alongside Russian troops in the Kursk region, U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

The total number of soldiers preparing for the offensive could reach 50,000. Moscow is rushing the offensive because newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to end the war immediately after his election victory.

The U.S. says there will be a "firm response" as Ukrainian forces holding ground in Russia's Kursk region now face North Korean troops "engaging in combat."

There are 8,000 servicemen of the Korean People's Army (KPA), who arrived from North Korea to participate in the war against Ukraine, in the territory of the

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday, authorities reported, as the Pentagon said most of the North Korean troops sent to help Moscow’s war effort are fighting to drive Ukraine’s army off Russian soil in the Kursk border region.