North Korea is learning valuable lessons from fighting against Ukraine, making it an increased threat to its neighbors, a US official said. In recent months, North Korea has sent around 12,000 troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine as part of a new security pact between its leader,

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that North Korean forces fighting alongside Russian troops against the Ukrainian military have sustained 4,000 casualties, both killed and wounded in action. Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency,

North Korea is “significantly benefiting” from its troops gaining battlefield experience fighting alongside Russian forces as it makes them more capable of waging war against rivals South Korea and Japan,