Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

South Korea and NATO on Wednesday urged North Korea and Russia to halt their military cooperation. The demand came after Seoul claimed at least 300 North Korean soldiers died while fighting Ukraine on behalf of Russia.

Seoul has previously claimed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent more than 10,000 soldiers as ‘cannon fodder’ to help Moscow fight Kyiv, in return for Russian technical assistance for Pyongyang’s

There is mounting evidence from the battlefield, intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors that some North Korean soldiers are resorting to extreme measures as they support Russia's three-year war with Ukraine.

Over 12,000 North Korean troops are estimated to be fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, the United Nations Security Council learned last week.

North Korean troops have been taking part in active combat on Russia's side in the country's Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine has held territory since August. This unprecedented move, made against the backdrop of a deepening Moscow-Pyongyang alliance,

South Korea's top envoy to the United Nations said Thursday that North Korean troops are being dissipated as "expendables" in Russia's war against Ukraine and treated as a "cynical" means of sustaining the North Korean regime.

The North Korean authorities are increasingly concerned about the mental condition and moral state of soldiers sent on a military mission to Russia. According to information obtained by Daily NK, the soldiers are exhibiting signs of extreme fear,

North Korean soldiers will participate in Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9, marking the first such instance in history, the Japanese broadcaster NHK World reported on Jan. 16, citing undisclosed Russian sources.