North Korea 'supplying missiles and soldiers' to support Russia in Ukraine

North Korean military engineers have been deployed to help Russia target Ukraine with ballistic missiles, with some fighters operating in occupied areas of the war-torn country having already been killed, senior officials in Kyiv and Seoul said.

- Emma Graham-Harrison, Justin McCurry

There are dozens of North Koreans behind Russian lines, in teams that "support launcher systems for KN-23 missiles", a source in Ukraine told the Guardian.

Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, last year travelled to Russia for a summit with Vladimir Putin where the two men bolstered their deepening ties with a secret arms deal.

Pyongyang's ammunition shipments were vital in allowing Russian forces to advance in a grinding war of attrition in eastern Ukraine this summer. But it appears increasingly clear that the agreement went beyond supplying materiel.

North Koreans were among the dead after a Ukrainian missile strike on Russian-occupied territory near Donetsk last week, South Korean and Ukrainian officials said. It was not clear if they were military engineers or other forces.

Foreigners have fought as mercenaries for Russia, but if North Koreans are on the ground it would mark the first time a foreign government has sent troops in uniform to support Moscow's war.