The foreign ministers of the G7 countries, as well as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, said they were seriously concerned about the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia and the possibility of their use in a war against Ukraine, Reuters reported.

“The DPRK's direct support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, in addition to demonstrating Russia's desperate efforts to compensate for its losses, would mean a dangerous expansion of the conflict,” the ministers said in a joint statement.

They also condemned in the “strongest possible terms” the increased military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including Russia's “illegal purchase” of North Korean ballistic missiles.

The Financial times newspaper quoted Ukrainian intelligence as saying today that the first military clash between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the DPRK military took place in Kursk Region.