We still don’t know for sure if there are North Korean troops fighting in Russia against Ukrainian forces. Perhaps we never will. But Ukraine’s case for their presence was not made stronger by the sudden announcement on January 30 that they were gone.

North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russia's army in the Kursk region appear to have suspended combat operations last month, South Korea's spy agency told AFP Tuesday, coming after Ukraine claimed the soldiers had been pulled from the front line after facing heavy losses.