"Under a mutual defence pact with Russia, in 2024 North Korea sent about 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, where more than 6,000 of them were killed, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and western sources.""Mutual defense pact" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that paragraph, since as I recollect it, Putin's trying to defend his fist from an unprovoked attack by Ukraine's face.
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