Ukraine has been hit by a surge in Russian ballistic missile attacks, about a third of which used North Korean weapons that can only fly because they run on Western circuitry, obtained despite sanctions,

Pyongyang has long coveted an advanced air-defense system to guard against missiles and war planes from the United States and South Korea.

North Korea could send up to 100,000 troops to aid Moscow in its war against Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned, amid reports that the North was sending additional long-range artillery systems.