North Korean troops supporting Russia in fighting against Ukrainian forces have been removed from battle after being severely weakened from suffering a large number of casualties, officials say.

Ukraine’s special operations forces said on Friday that North Korean troops have not been spotted on the battlefield in Russia’s Kursk region for about three weeks, indicating they may have withdrawn after sustaining heavy losses,

Ukrainian special forces tell the BBC they have not seen any North Koreans in Russia's Kursk region in three weeks.