A couple of hundred North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine have been killed or wounded during battles in the Kursk border region, a senior US military official said on Tuesday.
The official did not provide details on exactly how many have been killed, but said the North Korean forces do not appear to be battle-hardened, which contributes to the number of casualties they have had.
The official was providing the first significant estimate of North Korean casualties, which comes several weeks after Ukraine announced that North Korea had sent 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost three-year war.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide a US assessment of the war.