Ukraine intelligence confirms Russia enhanced North Korean missiles to deadly accuracy while Pyongyang supplies troops and weapons, raising nuclear concerns.

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country will always stand with Moscow, state media reported on Thursday. In a message for Russia Day,

"This is gravely concerning," said William Alberque, a former director of NATO's Arms Control, Disarmament and WMD Non-Proliferation Center.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday it has repaired its damaged second destroyer and launched it into the water in the presence of leader Kim Jong Un.

Russia and North Korea plan to restart a direct passenger train service between Moscow and the North Korean capital Pyongyang this month for the first time since 2020, Russia's state-owned rail monopoly said on Monday.

Kim Jong-un seized on Russia’s need for support in its war against Ukraine. His reward is a rapidly modernizing military that threatens the delicate balance of power on the Korean Peninsula.

The 30-minute call comes as Lee, a liberal from South Korea's Democratic Party, seeks to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North-South relations are at their most strained in decades amid Kim's frequent ballistic missile tests and North Korean troop deployments to support Russia's war against Ukraine.

Should North Korea deploy better short-range air defenses, they could complicate South Korea's strategy to preempt a nuclear attack. But Pantsir's combat record is mixed.