Kyiv, Ukraine — When Ukrainian soldiers captured two North Korean prisoners of war last month, it provided the first undeniable proof of Pyongyang’s direct involvement in the war against Ukraine. It also shed some light on the mindset and training of the conscripted North Korean soldiers sent to fight Russia’s war a continent away from their home.

Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) confirmed that North Korean troops have been absent from Russia's Kursk Oblast for around three weeks. Source: Oleksandr Kindratenko, the spokesperson for the Special Operations Forces,

North Korean troops have been pulled back from the frontline amid devastating losses, according to Ukrainian and American officials. Kim Jong Un ’s forces have not been seen on the battlefield for around three weeks, Ukrainian special forces said, according to the New York Times.

North Korean troops not seen for 3 weeks in parts of Kursk Oblast, Ukraine's Special Forces say Ukraine deploys long-range drone capable of 2,000 km strike, military says Ukrainian drones strike "one of 10 largest oil refineries in Russia,

North Korean troops, largely special ops forces, have suffered high casualties in bloody assaults not unlike other units, including prison units.

A Ukrainian news outlet has published a video showing the capture of a North Korean soldier, as South Korea's spy agency said Kim Jong Un has pulled troops from Russia's Kursk region. Newsweek has contacted the Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment.

A North Korean soldier captured fighting for Russia in Ukraine last month reportedly made just two requests to his captors - one for water and another for a cigarette