BRUSSELS -- NATO and the European Union are ramping up efforts to persuade China to help get North Korea to stop sending troops and other support to Russia to back its war on Ukraine.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns that North Korea is benefiting from aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine by potentially aiding Pyongyang's nuclear development, posing a threat for Europe and Asia.

European governments and the U.S. have so far denied Kyiv permission to use their weapons for long-range strikes into Russia. Moscow has said such a move would be treated as tantamount to their direct involvement in the conflict, raising fears that it would open them up for retaliatory action.

This new development confirms that Russia’s proffered religious justification for war is mere subterfuge. It also strips away the veneer of theological cover invoked by the Moscow Patriarchate to justify its vociferous support for Russia’s “holy war.”

Russia is believed to have transported tens of thousands of North Korean soldiers to the front lines by rail and air.

North Korea’s active involvement in the Ukraine War, marked by the deployment of 12,000 troops, underscores a growing alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow. This participation signifies the DPRK’s intensified commitment to Russia,