North Korea is gaining crucial military experience and equipment by sending troops to Russia, a U.S. official warned the United Nations, making the regime a growing threat to neighboring countries.

Russia has endured over 700,000 casualties since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022—more than in all of Moscow’s conflicts since World War II combined, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Jan.

The president noted that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is “not just maintaining his investments in aggression but doubling them.” Read also: Captured Russian marine exposes North Korean troop wipeout in Kursk Oblast - video “He has even started hiring soldiers from North Korea to continue this war.