North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russia's army in the Kursk region appear to have suspended combat operations last month, South Korea's spy agency told AFP Tuesday, coming after Ukraine claimed the soldiers had been pulled from the front line after facing heavy losses.

The reason for this is believed to be heavy casualties, “but the exact details are still being monitored," the NIS said. Earlier media reports stated that about a thousand North Korean soldiers may have been killed in Kursk Oblast by mid-January 2025.

The National Intelligence Service said that there have been no indications of North Korean troops deployed to Russia's Kursk region in combat since mid-January.