Kyiv, Ukraine - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia has begun deploying North Korean soldiers to storm Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region.

Zelensky said in his evening address that he had "preliminary evidence that the Russians have begun to use soldiers from North Korea in assaults – a noticeable number of them".

He said that according to his information, "the Russians include (North Koreans) in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region", where Ukraine has been mounting an incursion since August.

The Ukrainian leader added that he heard North Koreans "may be used in other parts of the front line", and that "losses among this category are also already noticeable."

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Zelensky said last month that 11,000 North Korean troops were in Russia's western Kursk region and had already sustained "losses."

The US and South Korea have accused Pyongyang of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow, after Russia and North Korea signed a landmark defense pact this summer.

North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Taken by surprise by the Kursk incursion, Russia has since steadily clawed back territory, halting Ukraine's advance and rushing reinforcements to the region.

A Ukrainian army source told AFP last month that Kyiv still controlled some 300 square miles of the Kursk region, about a third less than previous claims.