A North Korean soldier who was captured while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine has died of his wounds, South Korea's spy agency said Friday. Pyongyang has deployed thousands of troops to reinforce Russia's military, including in the Kursk border region where Ukraine mounted a shock border incursion in August.

Following talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in Seoul, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that Russia is prepared to supply North Korea (DPRK) with advanced space and satellite technologies in return for weapons and equipment to aid its war efforts in Ukraine.

The first confirmation of the capture of a North Korean soldier came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec 23 that nearly 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been “killed or wounded” so far. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) also said on Dec 23 that more than 1,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded.