North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised his troops fighting abroad as forging an ¡°invincible alliance¡± with Russia in a new year¡¯s message, state media said Thursday.

Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to support Russia¡¯s nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine, according to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies.

At least 600 have died and thousands more have sustained injuries, according to South Korean estimates.