Pyongyang would seem to have little reason to send its own people to risk their lives in the Russia-Ukraine War. But these soldiers appear to be at the heart of the North Korea-Russia security partnership.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia could send up to 3,000 more North Korean troops to the front in its Kursk region, in comments at a press conference at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

Russia’s ambassador to North Korea said that its Asian ally is also hosting Russian children orphaned by its war against Ukraine, as the two nations deepen ties.