North Korea sent its best troops to aid Russia in its war against Ukraine. But after months of suffering severe losses, they have been taken off the front line.

Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov said media reports that those troops have not been seen on the front lines there in weeks are “wrong.” There are still about 8,000 North Koreans battling Ukraine on the front lines in Kursk,

The spokesman did not say how long that front line was. And while this is not the full picture, it does suggest significant North Korean casualties. Separately, the New York Times also reported that the North Koreans had been pulled off the front lines.

Ukraine believes North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russia's army on the Kursk front line have been "withdrawn" after suffering heavy losses, a military spokesman told AFP on Friday.

North Korean troops have not been seen on the frontlines in Russia’s Kursk region for several weeks, a Ukrainian military official said Friday, amid reports of mass casualties among Pyongyang’s forces.

Ukrainian special forces tell the BBC they have not seen any North Koreans in Russia's Kursk region in three weeks.

Although the North Korean troops were highlighted as a decisive escalation in the conflict, their performance appears to have fallen well short of expectations.