Kim is also embracing a new friend – Russia's President Vladimir Putin. He has helped North Korea with food and fuel in return for weapons and soldiers for his war effort in Ukraine. Pyongyang is no longer as desperate for relief from US sanctions.

Multiple defectors from North Korea spoke to NBC News about the mindset of soldiers sent to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

North Korea says it tested a cruise missile system, its third known weapons display this year, and vowed “the toughest” response to what it called the escalation of U.S.

Soldiers from North Korea fighting on behalf of Moscow have reportedly pulled back from the frontline in Russia's Kursk region.

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North Korea's foreign ministry vowed the "toughest counteraction" against the United States as long as Washington "refuses" the country's sovereignty.

As President Donald Trump begins his second term, many are expecting him to revive his relationship with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. CNN’s Will Ripley reports.

Kim Jong Un, who Trump lauded as a "smart guy," has become Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key ally in a war against Ukraine, providing ballistic missiles, artillery, and 12,000 troops.

All North Korean recruits are taught a song that includes a verse about saving their last bullet for themselves to avoid capture, one former soldier told NBC News.

The missile launch came on the heels of the newly inaugurated US president acknowledging Kim Jong-un’s hermit state as a nuclear power.

According to General Budanov, Kim Jong-un has handed over at least 120 M1989 Koksan artillery systems to Russia over the past three months, as well as 120 M1991 multiple rocket launchers. Speaking to The Warzone, he said Pyongyang was preparing a new shipment of hardware, which analysts say is on its way.