Relations and exchange programs between the two countries have been flourishing in recent years, with North Korea supplying ammunitions and troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

North Korean lawmakers have said that about 600 of its soldiers have been killed fighting in Russia’s war in Ukraine, citing intelligence officials. Lee Seong-kweun and Kim Byung-kee disclosed this while speaking to reporters after a closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service,

The assessment came two days after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had sent combat troops to help Russia recapture parts of the Kursk region, which it lost control of to a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year.