This is reported by the New York Times.
Unnamed American and Ukrainian officials have confirmed to the newspaper that North Korean soldiers were pulled back from the front lines in the Kursk region after suffering significant losses.
However, American officials stated that the decision to withdraw the North Koreans from the line of confrontation may not be permanent. They suggest that the soldiers could return after further training or when the Russians find new ways to deploy them to avoid such heavy casualties.
Recall that the New York Times previously reported that North Korea might send reinforcements to Russia within the next two months. In South Korea, it is believed that the DPRK is accelerating military preparations for deployment to the RF.
In October 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he received information about Russia training two units of North Korean military, each consisting of 6,000 personnel. As of January, Zelensky reported that 4,000 soldiers from North Korea had been neutralized in the Kursk region.
Ukrainian military personnel say that the soldiers from the DPRK do not wish to surrender; instead, they either retrieve their comrades or commit suicide if faced with the threat of capture. They also do not take prisoners—Ukrainian soldiers who attempted to surrender were killed.
In Russia, there are efforts to conceal the involvement of North Koreans in combat operations. According to the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine, they were listed as Tuvans in the documents. Zelensky also mentioned instances of facial burning to prevent identification of the bodies.