North Korea's Kim Jong Un calls on military to prepare for war

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called on his country's military to focus all efforts on completing war preparations, state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.

KCNA reported Kim as describing the Korean peninsula as "the world's biggest hotspot," in a speech delivered to battalion commanders in Pyongyang on Friday.

Kim also accused the US and South Korea of having brought tensions in the peninsula "to the worst phase in history," KCNA reported.

On Saturday the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that North Korea is now supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine not only with soldiers and ammunition but also with heavy artillery.

According to the report by the UK newspaper, some 50 M1989 Koksan self-propelled howitzers and almost 20 multiple rocket launchers produced in North Korea have arrived in Russia in recent weeks.

The US State Department recently claimed that thousands of North Korean soldiers are actively fighting alongside Russian forces in the border region near Kursk, where they are engaged against Ukrainian troops.

South Korean intelligence reports further suggest that North Korea has deployed over 10,000 soldiers to Russia, in addition to supplying artillery ammunition to Russian forces.

The increasing military cooperation between the two countries has been solidified through a recently signed agreement, which includes a mutual defence pact.