North Korea doubles down on support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has once again affirmed his "unconditional support" for Russia's war against Ukraine during a meeting with a top Russian official.
The authoritarian ruler made the comment during talks with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang on Wednesday, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim reiterated his 'unconditional support for the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues including the Ukrainian issue", KCNA reported.
The two countries' ties have strengthened in recent years, with Pyongyang sending thousands of troops to Russia to help with its war against Ukraine.
The North Korean soldiers have been deployed in Russia's Kursk region, parts of which were seized by the Ukrainian army in a surprise offensive last August.
During their meeting, Shoigu and Kim discussed the prospect of rebuilding areas in the Kursk region, according to Russia's state Tass news agency.
Russia claimed in April that it had fully reclaimed Kursk, though Ukraine insists it still has troops present there.
During Wednesday's talks, both sides also outlined steps to commemorate the contribution made by North Korean soldiers.
Speculation about North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia first arose at the end of 2024, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South Korean officials accusing Pyongyang of sending soldiers to support Moscow's war efforts.
However, it wasn't until April that Moscow and Pyongyang officially confirmed the presence of North Korean troops on the battlefield.
A monitoring group comprising South Korea, the US, Japan and eight other countries last week classified Russia and North Korea's military cooperation as 'illegal", saying it flagrantly violates UN sanctions.
The report said their military alliance was allowing North Korea to fund its banned ballistic missile programme.
The group also expressed concern that Russia might also transfer sophisticated technologies to help North Korea enhance its nuclear weapons programme.
Hungary infringed EU law by prohibiting or restricting access to LGBTQ+ content, the EU top court's advocate general said in an advisory opinion on Thursday.
Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Tamara Ćapeta also suggested that Hungary breached fundamental values of the 27-member bloc, enshrined in Article 2 of the EU's Treaty.
The opinion of the advocate general is legally non-binding. However, the judges typically consider this, and in most cases, the final verdict aligns with this statement. If the judges of the court agree with the opinion of the advocate general, they could demand that Hungary revoke or amend the law and could also fine Budapest.
The legal case, labelled as one of the most significant human rights cases in the history of the EU, saw the European Parliament and 16 member states join it, demanding that Hungary annul the law.
The law was adopted back in 2021 in a push for what the government called child protection and the fight against paedophilia. However, critics and the LGBTQ+ community saw it as a Russian-style campaign that poses a threat to fundamental rights.
The law prohibits the portrayal of LGBTQ+ people or relations involving those underage in education and media.
Part of the law prescribed that books containing depictions of same sex relationships had to be wrapped and sealed in foil in bookshops. Additionally, several TV programs with similar content were moved to overnight time slots.
The adoption of the law led to protests against the government, and the European Commission initiated an infringement procedure against Hungary in the same year, stating that the law breaches EU law and values.
This year, Hungary made a step further and issued a ban on LGBTQ+ pride events held in public spaces, based on the child protection law.
The European Commission is currently examining whether this legislation aligns with EU law. Recently, EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath stated during a debate at the European Parliament that the Budapest Pride march poses no danger to children.
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