North Korean troops have not been seen on the frontlines in Russia’s Kursk region for several weeks, a Ukrainian military official said Friday, amid reports of mass casualties among Pyongyang’s forces.

North Korean troops fighting for Russia have been pulled from the front line for extra training after crude tactics led to massive casualties.

The soldiers appear to have been pulled back from the front lines in Kursk after suffering heavy casualties during barely a month of combat, Ukrainian officials said.

In the fog of war, whispers from the Ukrainian front lines reveal a curious absence. The once-present North Korean troops have seemingly vanished from the scene.

North Korean troops not seen for 3 weeks in parts of Kursk Oblast, Ukraine's Special Forces say Ukraine deploys long-range drone capable of 2,000 km strike, military says Ukrainian drones strike "one of 10 largest oil refineries in Russia,

Ukranian reports indicate that the North Korean soldiers previously encountered have withdrawn from the frontline. This report is limited to the Kursk region, where a large part of the recent fighting has been going on.

North Korea sent its best troops to aid Russia in its war against Ukraine. But after months of suffering severe losses, they have been taken off the front line.

Ukraine believes North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russia's army on the Kursk front line have been "withdrawn" after suffering heavy losses, a military spokesman told AFP on Friday.

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