U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing hard for Ukraine and Russia to start ceasefire talks and end the war, but while his focus is on Kyiv and Moscow, there’s another party to the conflict poised to shape negotiations — Pyongyang.

North Korean troops have played a key role in Russia’s massive counteroffensive to retake territory in Kursk, pressuring Ukrainian flanks at the cost of heavy losses, according to Kyiv. Moscow is now on the cusp of driving Ukraine out of the region entirely, with the Ukrainian army acknowledging that it has made tactical retreats.

Russia’s breakthrough comes as Kyiv