Ukranian reports indicate that the North Korean soldiers previously encountered have withdrawn from the frontline.
This report is limited to the Kursk region, where a large part of the recent fighting has been going on.
Whether the withdrawal is permanent is presently unknown, and reports indicate that it could just be a move to restore order among the soldiers.
Russia and North Korea have yet to comment on the situation.
A Permanent Withdrawl of North Korean Troops from the Kursk Frontline?
The reports currently have no answer to whether or not the withdrawal from the frontlines are meant as a permanent action.
So far, Ukranian reports indicate that between 1,000 and 11,000 North Korean troops have been killed in Russia in the last three months of action.
US officials have suggested that the withdrawal could be meant to reinforce the soldiers or as a manoeuvre to redeploy them elsewhere on the frontlines.
South Korean reports instead suggest that the withdrawal is due to North Korean unpreparedness. They also note that the North Korean soldiers are not trained for modern warfare and are unable to fight the Ukranian drones.
The North Korean troops have served to strengthen the bond between Russia and North Korea.
The soldiers have been sent to reinforce the Russian soldiers against the Ukranian push in the Kursk region, where the fighting has been fierce.
Ukraine initially took an area of up to 1,000 square kilometers in the region, though some of it has been recaptured by Russia. Ukraine intens to hold the region as leverage in future negotiations.
