North Korea ratified a defense treaty with Russia, state media reported Tuesday, formally deepening military cooperation that has seen Pyongyang send thousands of troops to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

North Korea ratified a major defense treaty with Russia stipulating mutual military aid, the North’s state media reported Tuesday, as the U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

North Korea has ratified a mutual defence treaty with Russia signed by the two countries' leaders in June, which calls for each side to come to the other's aid in case of an armed attack, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

With the reelection of Donald Trump, Ukraine may soon have to adjust to a dramatic reduction in US support that could have a decisive impact on the war with Russia.

Russia's Deputy head of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev takes part in a wreath laying ceremony marking Defender of the Fatherland Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall in Moscow,

A senior NATO military official suggested that any peace deal negotiated by President-elect Donald Trump that allowed President Vladimir Putin of Russia to claim victory in Ukraine would undermine the interests of the United States.