North Korean troops killed in combat against Ukraine for first time, Pentagon says

North Korean troops have entered combat alongside Russian forces in Kursk for the first time and Washington has indications that North Korean troops have been killed and injured, the Pentagon said on Monday.

"We do assess that North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat in Kursk... we do have indications that they have suffered casualties, both killed and wounded," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told reporters.

Ryder said he did not have details on numbers of North Korean casualties but added that the North Korean troops entered combat last week.

Ukraine said on Monday that North Korean units fighting for Russia sustained losses of at least 30 soldiers killed or wounded around several villages on the front in Russia's Kursk region over the weekend.

The Ukrainian military spy agency's statement came after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russia was using North Korean troops in significant numbers for the first time to conduct assaults in Kursk, a Russian region where Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion in August.