Overview

• Dmitri Medvedev said he is in North Korea for the Workers’ Party’s 80th anniversary events and posted, “The friends are together. The enemies are nervous.”
• Media reports cited by dpa say Pyongyang could dispatch up to 30,000 additional soldiers to the Ukraine war, a move described as going beyond the current mutual-support pact.
• Ukrainian intelligence estimates about 14,000 North Korean personnel have already fought alongside Russian forces, with roughly 2,000 killed.
• North Korea is preparing a large military parade for the party anniversary, and experts expect possible displays of new weapons; China’s premier Li Qiang is reported to attend.
• Russia warned of a “hard reaction” if the United States provides Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.