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

Ukraine's special operations forces have not seen North Korean troops on the battlefield in Russia's Kursk region for around three weeks, suggesting they have been forced to withdraw after taking heavy losses,

A Ukrainian Military official informed that North Korean forces have “probably” withdrawn from frontlines in Russia’s Kursk region after suffering heavy losses, CNN reported. Colonel Oleksandr, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Special Operations Forces,