"North Korean troops sent to Russia continue to advance even if their colleagues are injured or killed next to them."

The Ukrainian military testified that North Korean troops sent to help Russia do not back down despite the loss of power and fight by choosing to die rather than become prisoners.

The U.S. daily Washington Post (WP) quoted Ole, a member of the Ukrainian special forces deployed in the Kursk region of Russia, as saying.

Ole explained that unlike Russian troops who move in small groups to prevent North Korean troops from being detected by the enemy, they have been advancing into Ukrainian positions in large groups.

In particular, he testified that unlike the Russian military, even if a drone flew in the sky or even if a colleague was injured or killed next to him, he often ignored it and moved forward.

"The North Korean military seems to operate with a completely different mindset and approach than the Russian military," Ole said. "The Russians attack our positions and then retreat when they lose, but the North Korean military keeps moving forward."

Ole said his unit had caused significant losses to Russian forces and also claimed this could have led Russia to turn to North Korean forces faster than originally planned.

At the same time, he said of the large-scale mobilization of the North Korean military, "They (Russian forces) can stockpile their forces for other missions on the front line without sending them to the most dangerous missions."

Last month, Ole engaged 400 to 500 North Korean soldiers who had been attacking positions, and at the time, Ukrainian forces fought for eight hours, 1:6 outnumbered. He explained that he retreated when the bullet fell.

Ukrainian forces took a North Korean soldier captive and gave him first aid, but the soldier died of his injuries before questioning, Ole said.

Another North Korean soldier said he killed himself with a grenade rather than being taken prisoner by Ukraine.

Ole explained that dead or wounded North Korean soldiers were left intact on the battlefield.

Kursk emerged as a major front in the war after Ukrainian forces raided and seized some areas in August last year.

The Ukrainian army, which gave up about half of its occupation, recently launched a counteroffensive.

While U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on the 20th, has declared an early end to the war, observers say that the Kursk front will be a key criterion in the territorial division discussions that will take place in the end-of-war negotiations.