Chun In-bum, a former commander of South Korea's special forces, agrees with the defectors' appraisals. "Just because they lack food and training, does not mean they are incapable. They will acclimatise quickly. We should not underestimate them."

Reports from Ukrainian military intelligence indicate that North Korea has already supplied Russia with over 5 million artillery shells and 100 short-range ballistic missiles this

The United States voiced alarm at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday that Russia was close to accepting a nuclear-armed North Korea, as Moscow and Pyongyang defended their growing cooperation.

South Korea imposed sanctions on 11 individuals and 15 entities "engaged in illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Dec.

The United States hit North Korea and Russia on Monday with new sanctions targeting Pyongyang's financial and military support to Moscow as well as its ballistic missile program. The sanctions, which list North Korean banks,

Western industrialized nations blasted North Korea's military Monday for cooperating with Russia in Ukraine, calling it a "dangerous expansion of the conflict," as Ukraine claimed dozens of DPRK troops have been killed.

This is the assessment of the commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), after much speculation about the nature of the support that might be headed to North Korea to reward that country for its growing military backing of Russia.

South Korea has imposed sanctions on 11 individuals and 15 organisations involved in military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, the financing of North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes and Pyongyang's illegal procurement of sanctioned goods.