South Korea Troops

Russia is using North Korean troops as "cannon fodder" for its war in Ukraine, Seoul said Thursday, slamming the controversial deployment and warning it "won't sit idle".

About 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers are already in Russia acclimatising, likely to head to the front lines soon, South Korea's spy agency said Friday.

North Korea has deployed 1,500 soldiers to Russia for military training, with plans to send up to 12,000 troops to fight in the Ukraine war, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has confirmed.

North Korea's decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to Ukraine's front lines cements Pyongyang's contentious military alliance with Moscow, experts told AFP.

Dozens of North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified border with the South on Tuesday and retreated after warning shots were fired, Seoul's military said, adding landmine explosions had injured Pyongyang's troops in the area.

South Korean and U.S. troops have conducted joint combat firing drills near the border with North Korea involving heavy weapons, as Pyongyang lambasted the allies for dangerous moves pushing the region to the brink of "an inferno of nuclear war."

South Korean and U.S. troops held joint future combat drills involving drones, an unmanned vehicle and wearable laser sensors this week as part of efforts to modernise their militaries, Seoul's army said on Saturday.

Several thousand South Korean and U.S. troops took part in joint live-fire exercises on Thursday, in a show of force after North Korea's failed attempt last month to launch a spy satellite ratcheted up tensions in the region.

South Korea's troops kicked off their annual Hoguk defence drills on Monday, designed to boost their ability to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats amid simmering tension over both sides' military activities.

Ukraine said Sunday that Russia, whose troops have been slowly advancing towards the capital Kyiv, may aim to divide the country into versions of North and South Korea.

North Korea said it was searching for the body of a South Korean man killed by its troops, but warned that South Korean naval operations in the area threatened to raise tensions, state media reported on Sunday.

North Korean troops fired multiple gunshots towards the South in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula on Sunday, prompting South Korean forces to fire back, Seoul said.

South Korea and the United States failed on Wednesday to reach an agreement over Seoul's contribution towards hosting some 28,500 US troops, ending two days of talks that were the last before their existing deal expires on December 31.

The United States walked out of talks on hiking South Korea's contribution for American troops on its soil, Seoul said Tuesday, as Washington accused its ally of rebuffing a "fair and equitable" agreement.

Officials signed a short-term agreement on Sunday to boost South Korea's contribution toward the upkeep of US troops on the peninsula, after a previous deal lapsed amid US President Donald Trump's call for the South to pay more.

Russia is using North Korean troops as "cannon fodder" for its war in Ukraine, Seoul said Thursday, slamming the controversial deployment and warning it "won't sit idle".

About 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers are already in Russia acclimatising, likely to head to the front lines soon, South Korea's spy agency said Friday.

North Korea has deployed 1,500 soldiers to Russia for military training, with plans to send up to 12,000 troops to fight in the Ukraine war, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has confirmed.

North Korea's decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to Ukraine's front lines cements Pyongyang's contentious military alliance with Moscow, experts told AFP.

Dozens of North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified border with the South on Tuesday and retreated after warning shots were fired, Seoul's military said, adding landmine explosions had injured Pyongyang's troops in the area.

South Korean and U.S. troops have conducted joint combat firing drills near the border with North Korea involving heavy weapons, as Pyongyang lambasted the allies for dangerous moves pushing the region to the brink of "an inferno of nuclear war."

South Korean and U.S. troops held joint future combat drills involving drones, an unmanned vehicle and wearable laser sensors this week as part of efforts to modernise their militaries, Seoul's army said on Saturday.

Several thousand South Korean and U.S. troops took part in joint live-fire exercises on Thursday, in a show of force after North Korea's failed attempt last month to launch a spy satellite ratcheted up tensions in the region.

South Korea's troops kicked off their annual Hoguk defence drills on Monday, designed to boost their ability to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats amid simmering tension over both sides' military activities.

Ukraine said Sunday that Russia, whose troops have been slowly advancing towards the capital Kyiv, may aim to divide the country into versions of North and South Korea.

North Korea said it was searching for the body of a South Korean man killed by its troops, but warned that South Korean naval operations in the area threatened to raise tensions, state media reported on Sunday.

North Korean troops fired multiple gunshots towards the South in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula on Sunday, prompting South Korean forces to fire back, Seoul said.

South Korea and the United States failed on Wednesday to reach an agreement over Seoul's contribution towards hosting some 28,500 US troops, ending two days of talks that were the last before their existing deal expires on December 31.

The United States walked out of talks on hiking South Korea's contribution for American troops on its soil, Seoul said Tuesday, as Washington accused its ally of rebuffing a "fair and equitable" agreement.

Officials signed a short-term agreement on Sunday to boost South Korea's contribution toward the upkeep of US troops on the peninsula, after a previous deal lapsed amid US President Donald Trump's call for the South to pay more.