North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday it had deployed troops to Russia, with state news agency KCNA reporting Pyongyang's soldiers helped Moscow reclaim territory under Ukrainian control in the Russian border region of Kursk.

Korean friends acted based on a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradeship,’ says Russia’s president - Anadolu Ajansı

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces denied Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim over the weekend that Russian forces had fully retaken the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an offensive last year.