 North Korea continues arming Russia and threatens war with South Korea. Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, will soon visit the hermit kingdom of North Korea for the first time in just over two decades. The Economist media outlet said this. It is noted that the two countries are becoming more friendly, which is helping Russia in its war in Ukraine and is emboldening the North Korean regime. It comes at a time when Kim Jong-un, the country's hereditary dictator, is embarking on a new round of bellicosity towards South Korea. Some serious observers think that Kim means to launch some kind of military provocation against the South soon. Politicians in Seoul, South Korea's capital, promise a ferocious response. Given the North's nuclear weapons, any kind of war talk raises jitters throughout the region. The Economist writes that Kim has saber-rattled before. Shortly after he became the heir apparent in 2010, North Korea sank a South Korean ship and then shelled an island off the west coast of the peninsula controlled by the South. He has also ramped up North Korea's military arsenal. In the past decade, more than 224 ballistic missile tests have taken place, compared with 16 between 1997 and 2011. The country now possesses enough fissile material for 35 to 63 nuclear devices according to the Institute for Science and International Security and American think tank up from 5 to 13 in 2005. The North currently has almost 1,000 long-range artillery pieces trained on Seoul. North Korea has sent about 6,700 containers carrying millions of munitions to Russia since September in exchange for food as well as parts and raw materials for weapons manufacturing. North Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik told that the containers might carry more than 3 million 152mm artillery shells or 500,122mm rounds. It could possibly be a mix of the two and you can say that at least several million shells have been sent. Shin said he said hundreds of North Korean munitions factories are running at about 30% of their capacity due to a lack of raw materials and electricity, but those producing artillery shells for Russia were operating at full swing. In return for the munitions, Russia provided North Korea with food, raw materials and parts used in weapons manufacturing, he said. South Korea and the United States have since accused North Korea and Russia of trading arms in violation of United Nations sanctions and condemned Pyongyang for supplying weapons to Moscow for use against Ukraine. Putin warned the West, Russia has weapons that can strike targets on your territory. Politicians in the West sought to weaken Russia from within just like they did in Ukraine, but they failed. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a state-of-the-nation address. They essentially would like to do to Russia exactly what they did to many other regions of the world, including Ukraine, bring discord to our home and weaken us from within. But they miscalculated. The president said, it is absolutely obvious today, Vladimir Putin has warned the West that Russia has weapons that can strike targets on your territory, claiming allies have created a potential nuclear conflict which could lead to the destruction of civilization. In a state-of-the-nation address ahead of next month's election, Putin accused the US of wanting to ultimately defeat Russia and drag us into an arms race. Speaking to an audience of lawmakers and top officials, which was televised live nationwide, Putin said Russia was defending its sovereignty and security and protecting our compatriots in Ukraine. The Russian president addressed his remarks specifically to nations which have hinted they could send their own troops to support Ukraine. Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not rule out doing so, saying nothing should be excluded. However, other countries, including the UK, the US and Germany, warned against the move. They need to understand we too have weapons that can strike targets on their territory, Mr Putin said. He said Western rhetoric had threatened a conflict with the use of nuclear arms and consequently the destruction of civilization. Russian MFA, military personnel of NATO countries stationed in Ukraine. Service personnel of NATO countries are stationed in Ukraine. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said. She said that the mentioned military personnel are actively helping the armed forces of Ukraine. Zakharova added that the Ukrainian army is running out of weapons and personnel. Zakharova told that the West is preparing for a long-term conflict with Russia. She said that the security agreements between Western countries and Ukraine are an indication of this. This suggests that the West is not interested in a political diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis. According to her, even promises by French President Emmanuel Macron to send Western troops into Ukraine will not be enough to change the minds of the Ukrainian people, who have started to wake up to the fact that they have been betrayed by the West. Zakharova suggested that Macron's statement was an attempt to send out a bright and powerful statement that would somehow inspire people in the ranks of the armed forces of Ukraine and in the ranks of Ukrainian citizens being driven to slaughter, that the West would help them. However, according to the spokeswoman, the French leader's statement has had the opposite effect, especially after a large number of NATO representatives publicly stated that they were in no way considering sending their own soldiers to fight for Ukraine. The signal was exactly the opposite, that they betrayed Ukraine and will continue to use it and betray it, she said.