A North Korean military official met a Taliban counterpart on the sidelines of a Russian military exercise and weapons expo last week, where the DPRK joined Afghanistan and dozens of other countries as an observer.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced Saturday that North Korea was among the 33 states that dispatched observers to its Center-2026 strategic command and staff exercise at the Chebarkul training ground, alongside eight states that sent contingents to take part in the war games.