When North Korean troops began arriving in Russia this fall, some Western officials believed it was a sign that the Kremlin had reached out in a desperate need for more soldiers. But U.S. intelligence agencies have now assessed that the deployment was North Korea’s idea and not Russia’s,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in Russia's Kursk region and warned that Pyongyang could send more personnel and equipment for Moscow's army.