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North Korea Preparing Further Russia Troop Deployments, No Sign Move Imminent, Seoul Says

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
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North Korea Preparing Further Russia Troop Deployments, No Sign Move Imminent, Seoul Says

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

South Korea's Defense Ministry said North Korea was continuing preparations for an additional troop deployment to Russia, but had detected no signs that such a deployment was imminent, according to a South Korean lawmaker's office.

The assessment came ‌after North ‌Korea's Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim ‌Jong ⁠Un, last week ⁠denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's claim that Pyongyang planned to send up to 50,000 more troops to Russia to fight for its ally, Reuters said.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said in a statement to lawmaker Yu Yong-weon that North Korea had continued to supply Russia with weapons systems, including short-range ballistic missiles, according to Yu's office.

North ⁠Korea is estimated to have supplied Russia with ‌more than 15 million rounds of ‌artillery ammunition, measured in 152-millimetre shell equivalents, it said.

The lawmaker's office, ‌citing a South Korean Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, said North ‌Korean missiles used in the war may have improved in accuracy through battlefield data, alongside Russian technical advice and component support.

The ministry also said the development of some North Korean ballistic missiles and multiple rocket ‌launchers assessed as being intended for use in a conflict with South Korea was nearing completion, the ⁠lawmaker's office ⁠said.

The ministry added that North Korea's Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile, capable of reaching the US territory of Guam, was being prepared for operational deployment, according to Yu's office.

North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles have the flight capability to reach the US mainland, the ministry said, but key technologies, including warhead re-entry, have not been verified because all test launches have been conducted on lofted trajectories.

North Korea and Russia have deepened military cooperation since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Pyongyang supplying artillery ammunition and missiles since 2023 and deploying troops from 2024, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western assessments.

Moscow and Pyongyang have previously denied arms transfers.

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UK, US and Netherlands Issue Advisory on Iran-Linked Spyware

Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on September 14, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on September 14, 2026. (AFP)
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UK, US and Netherlands Issue Advisory on Iran-Linked Spyware

Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on September 14, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on September 14, 2026. (AFP)

Britain, the United States and the Netherlands on Tuesday issued a joint cybersecurity advisory detailing spyware they say is used by Iranian state-linked actors to target dissidents, activists and journalists.

Britain's National Cyber Security Centre said Iranian state-linked cyber actors had used a spyware family known as "CHOSEN ‌BRICK" to steal ‌emails, messages and other ‌sensitive information ⁠through "spear-phishing" campaigns on ⁠messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.

"The details of this cyber campaign reveal how Iran ruthlessly uses digital surveillance in pursuit of its aim to repress critics of the regime, stealing emails and messages and accessing ⁠devices," Paul Chichester, NCSC Director of Operations, ‌said in ‌a statement.

Iran's embassy in London did not immediately ‌respond to a request for comment.

The malware, ‌according to the advisory, can collect information from contact lists, emails and social media accounts, capture screen content and access a device's microphone. ‌The NCSC said some victims' personal details had later appeared on pro-Iranian ⁠leak ⁠sites.

The NCSC said the attackers often posed as trusted contacts on messaging apps and tailored their approach to individual targets. In some cases, it said, they used fake documents, including fabricated MRI test results, to persuade victims to download the malware.

The NCSC, alongside the FBI and the Netherlands' AIVD intelligence service, said Iran "almost certainly" uses cyber operations to help suppress people it sees as threats.

World

EU Must Impose ‘Greater Cost’ on Russia to Curb ‘Hybrid Attacks’, Says Kallas

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a debate on the "Urgent need for EU support to Ukraine against Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression" at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 15 September 2026. (EPA)
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a debate on the "Urgent need for EU support to Ukraine against Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression" at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 15 September 2026. (EPA)
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EU Must Impose ‘Greater Cost’ on Russia to Curb ‘Hybrid Attacks’, Says Kallas

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a debate on the "Urgent need for EU support to Ukraine against Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression" at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 15 September 2026. (EPA)
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a debate on the "Urgent need for EU support to Ukraine against Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression" at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 15 September 2026. (EPA)

The European Union must ramp up measures against the Kremlin, including reviewing the issuance of tourist visas to Russians, to counter Moscow's "hybrid attacks", foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.

"Despite international efforts to end the war, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin chooses to intensify his war of aggression against Ukraine and hostilities against Europe, and one thing is very clear: Putin will not stop unless he is stopped," Kallas told the European Parliament.

"So, as Russia is willing to take greater risks, Europe must impose a greater cost."

Europe is grappling with what Kallas called a "steady increase in hybrid attacks" by Russia designed to weaken support for Ukraine.

Fears rose over the summer when an explosive-laden drone was discovered at a German airport in an incident Berlin blamed on Moscow.

Beyond ramping up support for Kyiv and sanctioning the Kremlin, Kallas said the EU should look to increase controls on Russians coming into the bloc.

"We can tighten control further over the movement of Russian diplomats within Schengen. We can ban issuing visas for Russian ex-combatants, and we should review the issuance of tourist fissures to Russian citizens," she said.

"We must reduce the pool of people conducting attacks on European soil."

Kallas also urged EU states to better share intelligence and step up the use of artificial intelligence to tackle Russian disinformation.

While the EU eyes more measures, officials admit that the West is struggling to halt actions from Moscow that float in a grey zone beneath open conflict.

"We have all the response options we need when it comes to hybrid. It will not always be visible and public, what we do," NATO chief Mark Rutte said Monday.

"The most important one, of course, is making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay in the fight."

World

Iranian Foreign Minister to Visit China on Wednesday

16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, then Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)
16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, then Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)
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Iranian Foreign Minister to Visit China on Wednesday

16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, then Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)
16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, then Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will visit Beijing this week and meet with his counterpart Wang Yi, China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The two men -- who also met on the sidelines of the BRICS conference in Delhi last week -- will hold talks on Wednesday, the ministry said, as Beijing seeks to mediate in Iran's months-long war with the United States.

China is a top economic partner of Iran, buying much of its oil output, and also an important diplomatic backer.

The talks between their foreign ministers come just one week before an expected trip by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington, where he will meet President Donald Trump.

The war in Iran will be a closely watched topic at that meeting, among other thorny issues ranging from trade to competition over artificial intelligence.

Beijing refuted reports this week that Chinese entities supplied Tehran with satellite images of a military base housing US troops in Jordan, before and after an Iranian strike killed three American soldiers.

"We firmly oppose groundless suspicion and accusations without evidence," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference on Monday.

The reports by the Wall Street Journal threaten to deepen tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of the expected Trump-Xi meeting next week.

Trump has warned Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran, and Washington sanctioned three China-based satellite companies in May for enabling Iran's military operations.