Follow DW.South Korea's intelligence agency estimated around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 have been wounded in Russia's war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he's ready to hand over captured North Korean soldiers in return for Ukrainian soldiers held prisoner in Russia.

To avoid being hit by multiple drone attacks from the air, North Koreans have taken to forming a ‘human shield,’” says a Seoul-based specialist.

Separately, Ukraine revealed more details about the first two North Korean soldiers it has captured alive and said it was willing to exchange them for Ukrainians held in Russia.

It comes after Ukraine released footage of two captured men, reportedly North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia.

South Korea's spy agency said over 3,000 North Korean soldiers sent to help Russia fight its war against Ukraine are likely to have been killed or injured. Two have been captured alive. Ukrainian Pres

North Korean troops, unacknowledged by their own country, are getting chewed up in a vicious war in which, far from home, they are “cannon fodder” fighting anonymously on behalf of the Russians.

Russia and North Korea have boosted their military ties since Moscow’s invasion. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a statement it has “confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers on January 9 in the Kursk battlefield in Russia”.

The large number of victims could end up posing a problem for Kim Jong-un.

“Over the course of next year, Putin will likely face mounting domestic problems. Russia’s central bank has forecast economic growth of 0.5 to 1.5 per cent in 2025, down from 3.5 to 4 per cent in 2024, suggesting that the wartime boom may have run its course.”

Lawyers for South Korea’s impeached president say he will appear at a hearing in a Seoul court to oppose a formal arrest over last month’s imposition of martial law.