North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to support Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian, U.S. and South Korean assessments, Pyongyang's first major involvement in a war since the 1950s.

A Ukrainian brigade in the Kursk region has said it's no longer been encountering North Korean troops, as questions remain over Pyongyang's plans for the war front. Petro Gaidashchuk, a senior communications officer for the 80th Air Assault Brigade,

The deployment of thousands of North Korean troops marks the country's first participation in a large-scale conflict since the end of the Korean War.