A thousand North Korean troops who have been fighting in the Kursk region of Russia have been killed in Vladimir Putin ’s war with Ukraine, officials have said. Western officials have told the BBC that 36 per cent of North Korean forces fighting in Russia had been killed, injured or captured by mid-January.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly sent New Year’s messages to North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia's war against Ukraine, urging them to "fight with courage" until the end, according to a news report.

The American daily newspaper Washington Post (WP) reported on the 19th (local time) that a letter from Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, was found among the belongings of a North Korean soldier killed in action.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has encouraged and expressed gratitude to troops deployed to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine, in what appeared to be his New Year's message sent to them, according to a news report.

Videos of captured North Korean troops posted online by Ukrainian President Zelensky show them admitting that they thought they were being sent on an exercise.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, North Korean soldiers were transported to Russian territory by ferry, then by train, and kept in total isolation as far as information was concerned.