North Korea's latest missile test and its growing military ties with Russia has sparked unease among UN council members.

The United States warned on Wednesday that North Korea is benefiting from its troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, gaining experience that makes Pyongyang "more capable of waging war against its neighbors.

North Korea is learning combat lessons fighting Ukraine, a US official said. It means the authoritarian state is more of a threat to its neighbors. North Korea has dispatched around 12,000 troops to fight for Russia.

The announcement followed reports from Ukrainian media outlet Militarnyi, which claimed the soldier was captured by Ukrainian special forces during operations in Russia’s Kursk region.

North Korea "is significantly benefiting from receiving Russian military equipment, technology, and experience, rendering it more capable of waging war against its neighbors," the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.

Pyongyang might have acquired advanced missile technology from Moscow in exchange for its involvement in the war, analysts say North Korea could raise its army's deployment to support Russia's war in Ukraine to as many as 100,