North Korea may send 100,000 troops to Russia as Kim tells military to ‘go all out’

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un urged the country’s military to improve capabilities to fight a war, state media KCNA said Monday, amid suggestions that Pyongyang may send as many as 100,000 troops to help Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Addressing a conference of battalion commanders and political instructors in Pyongyang on Friday, Kim called for building political and military strength and combat effectiveness to ensure the armed forces can handle a war.

Threats from USA and its allies, including South Koreaand their military confrontation with North Korea has brought tensions to “the worst stage in history,” he said, calling the Korean Peninsula “the world’s biggest hotspot.”

“He strongly urged all the participants to go all out to make significant and fundamental improvements in improving their capabilities to fight an actual war,” KCNA said.

The report came against the backdrop of international criticism over rapidly developing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

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Ukraine releases video allegedly showing North Korean soldiers in Russia

Ukraine releases video allegedly showing North Korean soldiers in Russia

Washington, Seoul and Kiev have said there are more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia to support its war against Ukraine, and some of them have engaged in combat in Kursk, near the Ukrainian border.