Vladimir Putin confirmed that the North Korean army is supporting Russian forces for the first time - we'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.

Pyongyang confirmed on Monday for the first time the deployment of troops to Russia under a mutual defense treaty. Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, on Monday for the "feat" of his country's fighters who fought alongside Moscow's forces to reclaim the Russian region of Kursk,

South Korean defence ministry, meanwhile, said that the deployment of Pyongyang's troops to Russia violates UN security resolutions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed on Saturday what he called the complete failure of an offensive by Ukrainian forces into Russia's Kursk region after they were expelled from the last village Moscow said they had been holding.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces denied Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim over the weekend that Russian forces had fully retaken the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an offensive last year.