Military cooperation with North Korea expanding, says Russian defense minister

Military cooperation with North Korea is "expanding," according to Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, who met with North Korean counterpart No Kwang Chol in Pyongyang on Friday.

"We look forward to close and fruitful cooperation with our Korean comrades," Russian TASS news agency quoted Belousov as saying.

Moscow is "committed to implementing" all agreements reached with Pyongyang, he added.

The Russian defense chief arrived in Pyongyang following North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui's recent visit to Moscow, where she met with both her counterpart and President Vladimir Putin.

During her trip, Choe pledged that Pyongyang would "powerfully support and assist the Russian army" until its victory in Ukraine.

Belousov's visit to Pyongyang comes amid claims by the U.S., South Korea, and Ukraine that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to assist Moscow in its fight against Ukraine.

However, neither Pyongyang nor Moscow have confirmed or denied the claims.

In June, Pyongyang and Moscow signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement that requires them to provide military assistance to one another in the event of third-party aggression.

Last week, South Korea's spy agency claimed that North Korea had supplied Russia with additional self-propelled howitzers and rocket launchers.