A thousand North Korean troops have been killed or wounded in the last week fighting in Ukraine, the US has said. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Russia was deploying “human waves” of North Korean soldiers, and at least one soldier captured by Ukraine died of his injuries, according to NBC News.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that "several" wounded North Korean soldiers died after being captured by Ukrainian forces, as he accused Russia of throwing them into battle with "minimal protection".

While some Western officials initially viewed the arrival of North Korean soldiers in Russia as evidence of the Kremlin’s desperation, U.S. agencies now reportedly believe the idea was North Korea’s initiative,

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 on Friday. "It has been confirmed through an allied intelligence agency that the North Korean soldier captured alive on December 26th has just passed away due to worsening wounds," the NIS said in a statement.

U.S. intelligence agencies believe that North Korea's troop deployment to Russia was Pyongyang's idea, The New York Times reported Monday.

The first North Korean soldier taken prisoner of war by Ukrainian forces while fighting for Russia has died of his injuries, South Korean intelligence said Friday.

A "human wave" of North Korean soldiers fighting on Russia's side in the Ukraine war are being sent to their deaths in futile attacks by generals who see them as "expendable," the White House said Friday.