Pyongyang confirmed on Monday for the first time the deployment of troops to Russia under a mutual defense treaty. Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, on Monday for the "feat" of his country's fighters who fought alongside Moscow's forces to reclaim the Russian region of Kursk,

South Korean defence ministry, meanwhile, said that the deployment of Pyongyang's troops to Russia violates UN security resolutions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean troops for fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, after North Korea on Monday confirmed the deployment for the first time. In a statement Monday from the Kremlin,