North Korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has supervised combined tactical drills of special operations forces, emphasizing the importance of full preparations for war, state media reported.
According to Yonhap News Agency, these drills, termed as a combined tactical exercise of special operations and tank subunits' joint fire strike demonstration, occurred the previous day. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim highlighted the significance of the anti-imperialist class front, urging the North's armed forces to make war preparations their most crucial task.
Kim's remarks seem to underscore the importance of the anti-imperialist class front, potentially justifying North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia in support of Moscow's conflict with Ukraine. State media photographs depicted North Korean troops in camouflage suits operating drones, a skill reportedly learned from Moscow as detected by South Korea's spy agency.
Last month, North Korea admitted for the first time to sending troops to Russia to combat Ukrainian forces. During a recent visit to the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang, Kim defended this involvement as justified, citing it as an exercise of sovereign rights under a mutual defense treaty with Moscow.