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.

North Korea's renewed military support for Russia comes as US President Donald Trump has resumed military supplies to Ukraine, after a brief hiatus. Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he had made a deal with Nato for the US to send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine via the alliance, after a surge of Russian aerial attacks.

Russia Partnership in Ukraine: In exchange for sending tens of thousands of troops and vast amounts of artillery shells to aid Russia's war in Ukraine, North Korea is likely demanding and receiving critical Russian military technology.

Kim Jong Un said he would "encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership" to resolve the war in Ukraine.

Putin's army is reportedly just one to two kilometres from Kupyansk, which was liberated in September 2022 by Ukrainian forces during their counteroffensive.

Russia has launched a fresh barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine, killing at least six people.Vladimir Putin’s forces launched 597 drones and 26 missiles targeting the west of the country on Saturday,

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to North Korea later this week, according to the country’s official news agency KCNA. “Lavrov will pay a visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) between July 11 and 13,