Envoy to UN Robert Wood gives warning ahead of security council meeting, as US and South Korea defence chiefs urge North Korea to withdraw

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The US and South Korean defence chiefs have called for North Korea to withdraw its troops from Russia, as the US envoy to the UN, Robert Wood, bluntly warned that Pyongyang’s forces entering Ukraine “will surely return in body bags”.

Washington says 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed for possible action against Ukrainian forces. Russia and North Korea have deepened their political and military alliance as the Ukraine war has dragged on, but sending Pyongyang’s troops into combat against Kyiv’s forces would mark a significant escalation that has sparked widespread international concern.