South Korea's National Intelligence Service has reportedly confirmed that North Korea has withdrawn its troops from the frontline in Russia's Kursk region after entering the war late last year

North Korea began sending an estimated 11,000 troops to the Russian Kursk region late last year, soon after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on a mutual defense pact designed to strengthen their alliance against what they called a US-led “Western hegemony.”

Ukraine's claim came just days after South Korea's intelligence service stated that North Korean troops had been pulled back from the front lines. View on euronews

Though North Korean ballistic missiles account for only a small portion of Russia's missile strikes they carry a large warhead of up to one tonne and have a range of up to 800 km, the military source said. The Iskander-M, an equivalent Russian missile, carries a smaller payload and has a shorter range of 500 km.

This is almost certainly primarily due to heavy losses sustained during attacks against Ukrainian-held positions.” Reports differ on the scale of the losses but one put them as high as 4,000 North Korean soldiers killed or wounded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that North Korean troops were back on the front line in Russia's Kursk region.