Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the press prior to the European Council meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 19. AFP-Yonhap

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that over 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded fighting against Ukraine's incursion in Russia's Kursk region.

Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce the Russian military, including in the Kursk border region where Ukraine mounted a shock border incursion in August.

Zelenskyy wrote on X that "according to preliminary data, the number of North Korean soldiers killed and wounded in the Kursk region has already exceeded 3,000."

South Korea said earlier Monday that around 1,100 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded since entering combat in December.

The Ukrainian president said he had received a report from army commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky on the situation in the Kursk region and warned of "risks of North Korea sending additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army."

Zelenskyy said the world needs to understand that "growing cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang" leads to a proportionate increase in "risk of destabilization around the Korean Peninsula and in neighboring regions or waters." (AFP)