North Korea is "no longer content to have its nuclear weapons and be left alone," a former senior U.S. official told Newsweek.

North Korea accused South Korea of a “dangerous provocation” during a recent incident at the border of the two countries, adding to tensions as Pyongyang chafes at the annual joint US-South Korean military drills that are underway.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lauded "heroic" North Korean troops who fought for Russia in the war against Ukraine, in a ceremony decorating soldiers of the army's overseas operation, state media KCNA said on Friday.