News of the desertion comes amid fears that North Korea's Kim Jong Un is working with Russia's Vladimir Putin to build a 3,000-strong unit of North Korean soldiers in Russia's east

A group of North Koreansoldiers drafted to join Russia in their war against Ukraine have deserted the frontline, with Kremlin fighters now said to be tracking them down.

The desertion comes amid reports that Russia'sarmy is forming a unit of 3,000 North Korean soldiers as concerns grow that Pyongyang is forming a close military alliance with the Kremlin. The troops are said to have been deployed in Russia's Kursk and Bryansk oblasts, just four miles from the border with Ukraine, when they deserted.