On the 979th day of the war in Ukraine, North Korea today claims that its top diplomat is visiting Russia, another sign of deepening relations while South Korea and the United States state that Pyongyang has sent about 10,000 troops to train for combat in Ukraine.
The Central News Agency of Korea stated that a delegation led by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui departed on Monday towards Russia, without specifying the purpose of the visit.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea has confirmed that some North Korean troops who were in Russia, in the Russian region of Kursk, are reportedly already moving to the front lines of Ukraine.
Russian military personnel are reportedly teaching military terminology to the North Koreans, according to the NIS. "Russian military personnel were teaching North Korean military personnel about 100 Russian military terms, such as "return to your position, fire, and launch".
Additionally, a Russian attack on the historic Derzhprom skyscraper in the Osnovyansky district in Kharkiv has resulted in four deaths and the destruction of two residential units within the building under provisional protection by UNESCO.
Ukraine repels a nighttime drone attack in Kiev, and the debris from the drones, which fell in the districts of Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi, left six injured.
Zelenski Speaks with South Korean President About North Korean Troops
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski announced on Tuesday that he had discussions with his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol, regarding the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia to assist in their war against Ukraine.
"We discussed the involvement of the North Korean army in the Russian invasion of Ukraine," and "we have come to the same conclusion: this war is becoming internationalized," Zelenski stated on Telegram, as reported by Afp.
Kremlin States No Meeting Planned Between North Korean Foreign Minister and Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who is currently visiting Russia, stated Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.
Choe arrived in the Russian city of Vladivostok on Tuesday, at the eastern end of the country, a day after NATO stated that North Korean military units had been deployed in Russia to support their war with Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Choe is scheduled to visit Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean troops in the country. Peskov mentioned on Tuesday that the Kremlin has nothing further to add to Putin's statements.
Russia Confirms Arrival of North Korean Foreign Minister in Vladivostok
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui arrived today at the port of Vladivostok in eastern Russia, from where she will travel to Moscow tomorrow on an official visit following the Pentagon's report of North Korean troops being sent to Russian territory.
"She (Choe) is in Vladivostok and will be in Moscow tomorrow," stated a diplomatic source quoted by the official Russian news agency TASS, as reported by Efe.
The North Korean minister arrived in Vladivostok after the Pentagon reported that the Pyongyang regime had sent about 10,000 soldiers by train to eastern Russia and hinted that they would "likely" reinforce Russian forces near Ukraine in the coming weeks.
"A portion of these soldiers has already approached Ukraine, and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use them in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in the Russian region of Kursk," stated Pentagon Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny the presence of North Korean troops on Russian territory and, in fact, commented that "satellite images are serious. If those images exist, then something is there."
Japan to Provide Three Billion Dollars in Financial Aid to Ukraine
Japan will contribute $3 billion to the overall financial aid package worth $50 billion that the G-7 plans to offer to Kyiv, as revealed on Tuesday by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, as reported by Efe.
The total amount of this money will be covered by the interest generated by frozen Russian assets in G-7 countries as part of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
"We thank the Government of Japan for its solidarity," Shmyhal wrote on his social media. The Ukrainian Prime Minister called on all of Kyiv's partners to use the dividends generated by frozen Russian assets "for the benefit of Ukraine." "We must force the aggressor to pay," Shmyhal emphasized.
The Ukrainian Prime Minister explained that before Japan's contribution to the $50 billion aid package (over ¤46 billion at the current exchange rate) was announced, the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom had already announced their contributions to the initiative.
This week, the European Commission welcomed the consensus reached within the G-7 - which includes the seven most industrialized democracies in the world - regarding the contribution of each member of the group to this financial package that is expected to start reaching Ukraine next year.
The EU plans to provide ¤18 billion to the package to help Kyiv economically survive the crisis caused by the large-scale Russian invasion.
Debris from a Destroyed Russian Drone Injures Six in Kiev
In Kiev, debris from a destroyed Russian drone injured six people and set fire to a residential building, reported the mayor of the Ukrainian capital.
One of the individuals injured by the debris in the Solomianskyi district of Kiev was taken to the hospital, stated Mayor Vitali Klitschko on his Telegram channel.
A Reuters witness saw smoke in the residential area of the district located in western Kiev. The Kiev military administration posted photos on its Telegram channel showing a residential building and nearby cars burning in the darkness.
The administration mentioned that Ukrainian air defense units were attempting to repel a Russian drone attack on the city, and drone remnants also fell on the Sviatoshynskyi district in western Kiev, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
The scale of the Russian attack overnight was not immediately clear.
Moscow denies targeting civilians in the war that erupted following the invasion of its neighbor Ukraine in February 2022.
The war, which has lasted for two and a half years, has killed thousands of people, mostly Ukrainians, and has turned cities and towns into piles of rubble.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski is participating in the annual meeting of the Nordic Council in Reykjavik, focusing on security and peace in the Arctic, as reported by Efe.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui Travels to Russia
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and her counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow in January.