Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj claims that North Korean forces are back at the front line in the Russian Kursk region, following reports in January that Moscow had withdrawn them due to heavy losses.
"There have been new attacks in the operational areas in Kursk... the Russian military and North Korean soldiers have been brought in again", says Zelenskyj in his daily speech.
More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia last year to help the country counter Ukraine's invasion of Kursk, according to South Korean and Western intelligence services.
The Ukrainian leader claims that a "significant number" of enemy forces have been "destroyed".
"We're talking about hundreds of Russian and North Korean soldiers", says Zelenskyj.
