Kim backs Putin’s ‘sacred war’ as North Korea-Russia ties deepen, border tensions flare

Kim received the group, led by Vice-Minister of Defence Aleksey Krivoruchko, for discussions on military cooperation, in which the North Korean leader pledged Pyongyang’s support for Russia’s operations in Ukraine, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday.

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Kim pledges support to Putin over ‘sacred’ war with the West

South Korea’s military conducted propaganda broadcasts by loudspeakers pointed north from its side of the border in response to a new batch of trash balloons being sent by North Korea from Thursday night, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Tensions along the border where the two countries have positioned hundreds of thousands of troops have been on the rise for the past several weeks, increasing worries about an incident that could escalate.

For decades activist groups – many staffed by North Korean defectors who have settled in South Korea – have floated balloons carrying leaflets denouncing the Kim family that has ruled North Korea since its founding. Balloons have also carried payloads of US dollar bills, bags of rice and USB sticks with K-pop music to entice North Koreans to pick up the contents.