A North Korean soldier who was captured while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine has died of his wounds, South Korea's spy agency said Friday. Pyongyang has deployed thousands of troops to reinforce Russia's military, including in the Kursk border region where Ukraine mounted a shock border incursion in August.

There are risks of North Korea sending additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army,” Zelensky said. “We will have tangible responses to this.”

Secretive North Korea has one of the world’s largest militaries, with 1.28 million active soldiers, but unlike in Russia, the Korean People's Army (KPA) has no recent experience of combat. Pyongyang’s army is “thoroughly indoctrinated but with low readiness,” says Mark Cancian, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

South Korea's spy agency said Friday it had confirmed that a North Korean soldier sent to back Russia's war against Ukraine had been captured by Ukrainian forces.

Pyongyang has deployed thousands of soldiers to reinforce Russian troops, including in the Kursk border region.

South Korea's military said on Monday it has detected signs of North Korea preparing to send more troops and weapons, including suicide drones, to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. Pyongyang has already provided 240mm multiple rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled howitzers to Russia,

Ukrainian special forces have released several excerpts from a purported diary it said was found on a North Korean soldier killed in front-line fighting in Russia.

John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, revealed that North Korean soldiers in Ukraine face harsh conditions, with some taking their lives out of fear for their families.

North Korean soldiers sent to aid Russia in its fight against Ukraine are dying in droves and some of them have even chosen suicide over surrender, according to officials. More than 1,000 North Korean soldiers were killed fighting in the Kursk region this past week — almost 10% of its deployment to Russia — after generals ordered a “human wave” attack,