As many as 30 have been “killed or wounded” in Russia’s Kursk region, Ukrainian military intelligence said, among the heaviest losses for North Korean forces yet reported.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency is claiming that around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded in fighting against the Ukrainian army at the weekend in Russia’s Kursk border region.

The EU on Monday for the first time imposed fully fledged sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, on Chinese firms for supplying Russia's military for the war on Ukraine. It has also added North Korea's defense minister to its sanctions blacklist after the secretive state sent troops to Russia to reinforce its military.

Ukraine claimed over the weekend that North Korean troops accidentally shot at Russian vehicles in a "friendly fire" incident that left eight dead.

WASHINGTON: Ten countries and the EU called North Korea's growing involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine a "dangerous expansion" on Monday (Dec 16), in a joint statement released by the United States.

Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce Russia’s war effort, including to the Kursk border region. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Ukraine has been distributing leaflets via drones and projectiles and making videos urging North Korean troops to desert their Russian allies.

The Ukrainian military is conducting psychological warfare against North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces, seeking to persuade them to surrender rather than needlessly lose their lives on the battlefield.