South Korea is banning travel to the entire Kursk region in Russia amid intensifying clashes between Ukrainian forces and Russian-North Korean troops there, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

The Level 4 travel ban, the highest of the four-scale travel warning system, will be applied to all areas in Kursk effective from Thursday midnight.

Previously, a Level 4 advisory was applied to certain areas within 30 kilometers of the border in five Russian regions bordering Ukraine. However, with this adjustment, the entire Kursk region is now designated as a travel ban area.

"We ask citizens planning to travel to the Kursk region, now designated as a travel ban area, to cancel their plans," the ministry said. (Yonhap)