Chun In-bum, a former commander of South Korea's special forces, agrees with the defectors' appraisals. "Just because they lack food and training, does not mean they are incapable. They will acclimatise quickly. We should not underestimate them."

North Korea demonstrated this year that it could produce ballistic missiles and supply them to Russia for use against Ukraine in a matter of months, the head of a research organization that traces weapons used in the war said Wednesday.

The United States voiced alarm at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday that Russia was close to accepting a nuclear-armed North Korea, as Moscow and Pyongyang defended their growing cooperation.

South Korea imposed sanctions on 11 individuals and 15 entities "engaged in illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Dec.

The United States hit North Korea and Russia on Monday with new sanctions targeting Pyongyang's financial and military support to Moscow as well as its ballistic missile program. The sanctions, which list North Korean banks,

South Korea has imposed sanctions on 11 individuals and 15 organisations involved in military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, the financing of North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes and Pyongyang's illegal procurement of sanctioned goods.

By bno - Taipei Office North Korea’s involvement in supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine has become a matter of serious international concern, as fresh evidence suggests that the regime is capable of producing and transferring missiles within a matter of months.