Ukraine has said approximately one-third of the 11,000 North Koreans believed to have been deployed to Russia have been killed or injured.

South Korea will offer "necessary protection and support" to North Korean prisoners of war captured in Ukraine who wish to come to the South, Seoul said Wednesday.

North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to support Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian, U.S. and South Korean assessments, Pyongyang's first major involvement in a war since the 1950s.

At least around 300 North Korean soldiers have died in Kursk, with about 2,700 being injured. The Ukraine war is currently entangled in diplomacy and politics. While Russia and United States have met in Saudi Arabia,

The South Korean government has announced that it will provide the necessary protection and support to all North Korean soldiers captured by the Ukrainian military, in accordance with the fundamental principle and related laws that guarantee their acceptance if they request to move to S.

South Korea is willing to provide protection and support if North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine request to come to the South, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday, following reports that a North Korean soldier held by Ukrainian forces expressed his intent to defect.