<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says several "seriously wounded" North Korean soldiers died from their injuries after being captured by Ukrainian forces.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Our soldiers managed to take them prisoner. But they were very seriously wounded and could not be resuscitated," Zelensky said in an address yesterday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He did not specify how many soldiers had been captured. The soldiers are believed to be the first North Koreans taken as prisoners of war by Ukraine.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/south-korean-parliament-votes-to-impeach-acting-president-han-ducksoo/8b3e1f09-b74a-4e98-8075-8230191548aa"><strong><span>South Korean parliament votes to impeach acting president</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>South Korea's spy agency said earlier that one wounded North Korean soldier, who was captured by Ukraine, had died from his injuries, Yonhap news agency reported.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>CNN has reached out to South Korea's National Intelligence Service and Ukrainian authorities for comment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>North Korean troops are </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/north-korean-troops-suffer-heavy-casualties-ukraine-intelligence-says/c024170a-7b0f-476d-af8d-2f56ba03d3d1" rel="" target="" title="believed to have suffered heavy losses"><span>believed to have suffered heavy losses</span></a><span> while fighting for Moscow in Russia's western Kursk region, according to US and Ukrainian officials.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/several-north-korean-soldiers-captured-by-ukraine-die-from-injuries-zelensky-says/1d9cf491-db42-4930-b93c-bf221a91f5f2" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ukraine launched its lightning incursion into Kursk in August, forcing Russia to divert troops to counter the threat.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Zelensky said that the North Korean military has been facing severe losses and accused Russia of sending them to the battlefield with "minimal protection."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/australians-visiting-new-york-reportedly-among-pedestrians-hit-by-taxi/6d58caab-b271-48c6-9c43-731bd9bceacc" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Australians reportedly among six hit when taxi veered into pedestrians in New York</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They have a lot of losses. A lot. And we see that the Russian military and North Korean supervisors are not interested in the survival of these Koreans at all," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Seoul's spy agency said it received information on the capture "through real-time intelligence sharing with allies", but did not specify any country by name.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Neither Moscow or Pyongyang have officially acknowledged the presence of North Korean troops in Russia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US, Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence estimates however, put the number of North Korean soldiers in Russia at between 11,000 to 12,000, some of whom have already engaged in combat operations alongside tens of thousands of Russian forces to assist in recovering parts of Kursk.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/videos/national/wa-woman-left-bloodied-and-bruised-in-shocking-attack/cm56lcce200060hpgovh8m7dj"><strong><span>WA woman left bloodied and bruised in shocking attack</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ukraine estimates more than 3000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in Kursk, while a senior US official said North Korea has seen "several hundred" casualties – both killed and wounded – in the region since October.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A South Korean lawmaker said about 100 North Korean soldiers are believed to have been killed and almost 1000 injured since being deployed to Kursk, citing the country's intelligence agency.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officials in Kyiv have accused Russia of trying to cover up the involvement of North Korean soldiers on the battlefield.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Earlier this month, the Ukrainian military said documents seized from three North Korean soldiers killed in Kursk were fake military identification documents with Russian names and birthplaces.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Zelensky has said Russia is attempting to conceal the losses of North Korean troops on the battlefield, resorting to extreme tactics to disguise the identity of North Korean soldiers killed in combat.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Russians are trying… to literally burn the faces of North Korean soldiers killed in battle," Zelensky said in a statement on X on December 17, alongside a video purportedly showing Russian soldiers setting fire to the bodies of North Korean soldiers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There are risks of North Korea sending additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army," Zelensky said after receiving a report from Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in which he wrote the two countries will continue to implement the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty they signed in June, which includes a mutual defence pact, Russian and North Korean state media reported.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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