The US, South Korea, and Japan strongly condemned the supply of military equipment by North Korea to Russia and said these deliveries would significantly increase the human toll of Moscow’s war against Ukraine. The US and its Asian allies said in a joint statement they could now confirm that such weapons deliveries have taken place between the two countries which are isolated on the world stage. The condemnation came amid increasing speculation of an arms deal between Russia and North Korea following a number of high-profile visits between the diplomats and leaders of both the countries. “Such weapons deliveries, several of which we now confirm have been completed, will significantly increase the human toll of Russia’s war of aggression. “We will continue to work together with the international community to expose Russia’s attempts to acquire military equipment from (North Korea),” said the top diplomats of the three countries. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the allegations that Russia was receiving munitions from North Korea, claiming instead that Washington has failed to prove the charge. Both countries have increasingly sought to rely on each other as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approached its second winter. Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo said they were closely monitoring any materials that Russia provides to North Korea in support of Kim Jong-un’s military objectives. “We are deeply concerned about the potential for any transfer of nuclear- or ballistic missile-related technology to (North Korea),” the statement said. The joint condemnation signed by South Korean foreign minister Park Jin, US secretary of state Antony Blinken, and Japanese foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa also underscored that arms transfers to and from North Korea would violate UN Security Council resolutions, which Russia, a permanent Security Council member, previously voted for. Earlier this year, the North Korean leader had visited Russia and met Mr Putin in the most prominent sign that the countries were looking to prop up their regimes by supporting each other by sharing military hardware and technology. The talks reportedly focused on an arms deal in exchange for technological support to Pyongyang’s fledgling space programme. Just last week, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov also visited Pyongyang and met the North Korean leader. Both leaders praised the ties between their countries that they said had increased to a “new level”. Mr Lavrov said in a reception speech that Moscow “deeply” valued Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for Russia in the war. The meeting was seen as groundwork for a potential second summit between Mr Kim and Mr Putin after the Kremlin leader accepted the invitation to travel to North Korea at “a convenient time”. Analysts have said the two countries have been forced to turn to each other as they have been isolated on the world stage. North Korea’s supply of its arsenal holds importance for Moscow as it has been going through artillery shells, missiles and other munitions for its Ukraine invasion. This comes as Moscow’s domestic production has struggled to keep up with biting Western sanctions as Ukraine has unleashed a months-long counteroffensive that has been rolling on since June. Earlier this month, the White House claimed North Korea delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia. The White House released satellite images it said showed the containers were loaded onto a Russian-flagged ship before being moved via train to southwestern Russia. A US think-tank had last month shared satellite images showing continued activity around a North Korean port near Russia. It captured at least six trips by sea between North Korea’s port of Rajin and Russia’s Dunai port since late August. These shipments were possibly related to the transfer of North Korean munitions to Russia, the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies had said. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary 82-year-old man in South Korea chokes to death after eating ‘still wriggling’ octopus Suspected North Korean defectors found in small wooden boat near sea border Thousands of remote IT workers sent wages to North Korea, says FBI

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A jailed French gangster known as the “getaway king” after two dramatic escapes from prison - one involving a hijacked helicopter - will be locked up for a further 14 years. Redoine Faid, who says he drew inspiration for his criminal career from French and American gangster films, escaped from Reau prison, southeast of Paris, in July 2018. He had been in the prison’s visiting room when three men burst in and got him onto the aircraft, which had landed in one of the prison courtyards. Just five years earlier, in April 2013, he escaped from Sequedin prison in the north of the capital, using explosives to blast through five prison doors, taking four prison wardens hostage, and escaping in two getaway cars. A self-described “freedom addict”, Faid, who has multiple convictions for armed robbery, went on trial earlier this month and was this week sentenced to 14 years additional years behind bars for the prison break. The 51-year-old appeared at Assize Court with a smile and wearing a blue sweater. Among the 11 co-defendants were his two brothers, one of whom he greeted with a kiss, three nephews and a convicted member of the Corsica underworld. Prosecutors had requested 22 years for the jailbreak, spearheaded by Faid’s brother Rachid, who took a helicopter pilot hostage and ordered him to fly to the prison. Rachid got 10 years for his involvement in the plot. Three armed accomplices let off smoke bombs to confuse guards at the prison, one of the men - identified as Faid’s elder brother Rachid - used a disc grinder to cut through doors leading to the visiting room. Faid had been receiving a visit from another brother, Brahim. Inmates of the prison cheered as the helicopter took off with its new passenger, with the operation taking just 10 minutes. Brahim told the court he had no idea about the plan and he was acquitted. After Faid was sprung from the prison, the helicopter landed in Gonesse, a northeastern suburb of Paris, where he and his accomplices continued their escape by car. Authorities later found a burnt-out black Renault suspected of being the getaway car in Aulnay-sous-Bois, another suburb of the capital. The assailants are thought to have changed vehicles, continuing their escape in a van. Faid was arrested by special forces in October 2018 in an apartment located in the city of Creil, in the northern suburbs of Paris, having spent three months on the run. He had been seen dressed as a woman, wearing a burqa. In 2017, he was sentenced on appeal to 25 years in prison for masterminding a failed 2010 robbery, which claimed the life of a policewoman. As a young delinquent in a troubled suburb north of Paris, Faid took his inspiration from gangster movies. He told the court it was his love of freedom that drove him to escape from jail. "I’m in a concrete sarcophagus 23 hours out of 24… What am I going to do? Kick my heels indefinitely. I have an addiction which consumes me and which I cannot cure. I am addicted to freedom." Read More Russia-Ukraine war live: North Korea hands over 1,000 containers of weapons to Putin Putin’s many ‘heart attacks’ and why the rumours may be in his favour Russia recruits prisoners for Ukraine war as Putin replicates Wagner Russia-Ukraine war live: North Korea hands over 1,000 containers of weapons to Putin Putin’s many ‘heart attacks’ and why the rumours may be in his favour Russia recruits prisoners for Ukraine war as Putin replicates Wagner

Russia has taken the wheel from Wagner as the Kremlin has recruited up to 100,000 prisoners to fight in Ukraine. The practice was a trademark move of the late mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who filled his group’s ranks with convicted criminals. The army unit, commonly known as Storm-Z, is reportedly seen as a disposable force in Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation”. It comes as the Russian prison population has dropped from an estimated 420,000 to around 266,000, according to deputy minister Vsevolod Vukolov, who disclosed the figures earlier this month. Russian state-controlled media reported that Storm-Z squads exist, that they took part in intense battles and some of their members received medals for bravery, but it has not disclosed how they are formed, or the losses they take. While the Russian defence ministry has never acknowledged creating Storm-Z units, the first reports of their existence emerged in April when the Institute for the Study of War cited what it said appeared to be a leaked Russian military report on the formation of the squads. RTVI, a Russian news website, said Storm-Z “is the same scheme as with the [Wagner] private military company. Prisoners sign contracts with the defence ministry, and after completing them they can go home or continue serving”. However, a Russian soldier who fought alongside members of the penal squad told Reuters that Storm-Z fighters “are just meat”. The soldier, from army unit no. 40318 who was deployed near Bakhmut in May and June, said he’d given medical treatment to a group of six or seven wounded Storm-Z fighters on the battlefield. In doing so, he had disobeyed an order from a commander - whose name he didn’t know - to leave the men. He said he didn’t know why the commander gave the order, but claimed that it typified how Storm-Z fighters were considered of lesser value than ordinary troops by officers. The soldier, who requested anonymity because he feared prosecution in Russia for publicly discussing the war, said he had sympathy for the men’s plight: “If the commandants catch anyone with the smell of alcohol on their breath, then they immediately send them to the Storm squads.” The UK ministry of defence addressed the emergence of the penal squads in its update on 24 October, saying: “Russia largely continues to rely on specially designated ‘Shtorm-Z’ units for local offensive operations in Ukraine.” It said: “Multiple accounts suggest the units are given the lowest priority for logistical and medical support, while repeatedly being ordered to attack.” The intelligence update added that the squads were “likely first fielded in 2022” and they highlight “the extreme difficulty Russia has in generating combat infantry capable of conducting effective offensive operations”. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Live updates | Israeli troops briefly enter Gaza as wider ground incursion looms Europe's central bank is set to halt rate hikes as the Mideast war casts a shadow over the economy Putin presides over rehearsals of 'massive' Russian nuclear strike

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