CNN: Military advisors from North Korea have arrived in Mariupol.

Military advisors from North Korea have already arrived in the occupied city of Mariupol, as reported by a source from the CNN television company within Ukrainian intelligence services.

According to the interlocutor of this media outlet, the purpose of the North Korean military's visit remains unclear, and they were dressed in Russian military uniforms.

The source specified that the North Koreans in Mariupol are keeping separate from Russian soldiers: they have their own barracks where food is supplied specifically for them, and special music is played while unique films are shown.

The CNN interlocutor also confirmed reports that appeared in The Wall Street Journal, stating that a general from the North Korean armed forces was injured as a result of a Ukrainian missile strike on a command post in the Kursk region. However, the source said they do not know whether he was killed or wounded.

Meanwhile, AFP reports that the U.S. expects that thousands of North Korean soldiers currently in Russia will soon engage in combat with the Ukrainian army, as stated by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.

"Based on what they have been trained and how they have been integrated into Russian formations, I expect they will soon be involved in hostilities," AFP quotes Austin.

At the same time, the Operational Tactical Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Kharkiv" has denied reports from some Ukrainian military personnel that North Korean troops are allegedly also in the Kharkiv region.

The group stated on its Facebook that such information is inaccurate, and the individual who was the source of the claim is not authorized to comment on the operational situation.

According to Western and Ukrainian authorities, Russia has sent about 10,000 North Korean soldiers to the combat zone with Ukraine. It was previously reported that they are located in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian Armed Forces units have entered.

Background. According to media reports citing unofficial sources, during the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attack with Storm Shadow missiles on the Kursk region, a Russian general was killed along with "500 North Korean soldiers" – the attack targeted an underground facility.