Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) scale and (b) effectiveness of North Korea's contribution to Russia's war against Ukraine.

We are seeing evidence that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has sent troops to Russia.

This is a deeply concerning development, which risks prolonging the war, and augments the DPRK's already significant support to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, which includes the provision of artillery munitions and short-range ballistic missiles.

This further illustrates Russia's growing reliance on third country support and a deepening relationship with the DPRK which has serious security implications for Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

I can reassure the hon. Member that the Ministry of Defence keeps this area under close review.