North Korean soldiers righting in the Russia-Ukraine war have been told to take their own lives rather than be captured, South Korea has claimed.

       Roughly 300 North Koreans have been killed and 2,700 injured in the Kursk region of Russia, according to the South's head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Cho Tae-yong.

       If this number is accurate, it would represent more than a quarter of the 11,00 North Korean troops believed to have been sent to Russia last autumn, though it has not been independently verified.

       Cho said North Korean soldiers are dying because they "lack … understanding of modern warfare" and do not understand how easily Ukrainian drones can locate them.

       One soldier was spotted hiding in a tree, apparently not realising he could be seen by a drone, and another reportedly tried to kill himself by setting off a hand grenade, according to The Times.

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       The outlet said he was heard screaming "General Kim Jong-un" before being shot and killed rather than captured.

       Lee Seong-kweun, a member of South Korea’s National Assembly, also claimed that "in the memos carried by those killed ... North Korean authorities emphasised self-destruction and suicide before capture".

       A former North Korean soldier going by the name Kim added that suicide is "the reality" of being a soldier for his country.

       He told Reuters: "Self-detonation and suicides: that's the reality about North Korea. These soldiers who left home for a fight there have been brainwashed and are truly ready to sacrifice themselves for Kim Jong-un."

       Ukraine has managed to capture and hold territory in Kursk since its daring incursion into the area in August 2024, causing Russia to enlist the help of North Korean soldiers.

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       Kyiv has claimed that 4,000 soldiers from the North have been killed, but this figure is hard to verify and it's not clear how this conclusion was made.

       Volodymyr Zelensky also announced the capture of two injured North Korean soldiers, 19 and 25, and has offered to swap them for Ukrainian soldiers being held by Russia.

       The two men are the first to survive after being captured, and social media videos posted by Mr Zelensky showed the 19-year-old asking to stay in Ukraine.

       They're both associated wit the Reconnaissance General Bureau, which oversees international espionage, according to the NIS, which added that they'd be allowed to defect to the South.