North Korean soldiers sent to bolster Moscow’s forces after Ukraine launched a lightning-fast incursion and seized territory in Russia’s Kursk region over the summer.

The wounded fighters were taken to Kyiv for questioning, authorities said, where they could reveal details of Pyongyang’s cooperation with Moscow.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the soldiers were captured in the western Kursk region, where Ukraine has been fighting to hold on to territory it seized last summer.

Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers alive after they were wounded while fighting for Russia, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Saturday.

It is the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the war.

North Korea is learning valuable lessons from fighting against Ukraine, making it an increased threat to its neighbors, a US official said. In recent months, North Korea has sent around 12,000 troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine as part of a new security pact between its leader,

North Korea's latest missile test and its growing military ties with Russia has sparked unease among UN council members.

The United States warned on Wednesday that North Korea is benefiting from its troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, gaining experience that makes Pyongyang "more capable of waging war against its neighbors.

Pyongyang might have acquired advanced missile technology from Moscow in exchange for its involvement in the war, analysts say North Korea could raise its army's deployment to support Russia's war in Ukraine to as many as 100,