THE upper house of Russian parliament today ratified a treaty with North Korea for mutual military assistance.

The move comes as Ukraine says its troops have engaged for the first time with North Korean units supporting the Russian invasion.

The “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty,” which Russian President Vladimir Putin signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a visit to Pyongyang in June, obliges Russia and North Korea to immediately provide military assistance using “all means” if either is attacked. 

The pact’s endorsement by the upper house, the Federation Council, follows its ratification by the lower house, the State Duma, on October 24.

On Monday, President Putin met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who was on an official visit to Russia. 

During her talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Ms Choe reiterated Pyongyang’s support “for the just fight of Russia’s military and people to defend their country’s sovereign rights and security interests” in Ukraine.

On Tuesday Kiev said that Ukraine’s army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces have advanced into Russia.

This was the first official report that Ukrainian and North Korean forces have engaged in combat, following what is reportedly a 10,000 strong deployment by Pyongyang.

The Ukrainian and North Korean troops engaged in “small-scale” fighting that amounted to the start of Pyongyang’s direct involvement in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told South Korea’s public broadcaster KBS in an interview.

Mr Umerov told the broadcaster that North Korean soldiers are mixed with Russian troops and are misidentified on their uniforms, making it hard to say whether there were any North Korean casualties during the fighting.

A Tuesday morning attack by the Russians on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia killed six people and injured 23 others, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said.