North Korea will “unconditionally support” Russia’s goals in Ukraine, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un told visiting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov this week, according to North Korea’s state news agency, as the two countries reaffirmed their deepening military and economic ties.

By Ben Aris in Berlin Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned the United States, South Korea and Japan against forming a trilateral security alliance that explicitly targets North Korea, cautioning that such a move would inflame regional tensions and further alienate Moscow and Pyongyang.