SEOUL, South Korea — An estimated 4,700 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded while fighting alongside Russia against Ukrainian forces, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday.

The assessment came two days after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had sent combat troops to help Russia recapture parts of the Kursk region, which it lost control of to a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year.

In a closed-door parliamentary committee briefing, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said North Korea had suffered 4,700 casualties, including 600 deaths, on the Russia-Ukraine battlefronts, according to Lee Seong Kweun, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.

Lee told reporters the NIS said that 2,000 injured North Korean soldiers were repatriated to North Korea by air or train between January and March. He cited the NIS as saying the dead North Korean soldiers were cremated in Russia before their remains were sent back home.

In January, the NIS said about 300 North Korean soldiers had died and another 2,700 had been injured, and the South Korean military increased the estimated casualties to 4,000 last month.

On Monday, North Korea announced that leader Kim Jong Un had decided to dispatch troops to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.” Russian President Vladimir Putin later issued a statement thanking North Korea and promising not to forget the sacrifices of North Korean soldiers.

Both Kim and Putin said the North Korean deployment was made under their countries’ landmark 2024 defense treaty, which requires each side to provide aid if the other is attacked. The U.S., South Korea and their partners say North Korea has been supplying vast amounts of conventional weapons to replenish Russia’s depleted stocks as well. They suspect Russia is providing North Korea with military and economic assistance in return.

U.S., South Korean and Ukraine officials have said North Korea dispatched 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last fall. South Korea’s military said in March that North Korea sent about 3,000 additional troops to Russia earlier this year.

During its Wednesday briefing, the NIS said it assessed that Russia has given North Korea air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones and technology for spy satellite launches, according to Kim Byung-kee, another lawmaker who attended the NIS briefing.

Kim quoted the NIS as saying that 15,000 North Korean laborers have also been sent to Russia under bilateral industrial cooperation programs. The lawmaker said the amount of North Korean missiles and artillery sent to Russia was worth billions of dollars but the NIS hasn’t detected signs that Russia has sent North Korea cash remittances for them.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran finally extinguished a fire Monday at a southern port rocked by an explosion as the death toll in the blast rose to at least 65 people killed, authorities said.

Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press also showed the devastation of the explosion that injured more than 1,000 people. The photos from Planet Labs PBC came as local news reports from the site raised more questions about the cause of the blast Saturday at the Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni announced the fire had been put out, while Hormozgan Gov. Mohammad Ashouri Taziani gave the death toll.

The port reportedly took in a chemical component needed for solid fuel for ballistic missiles — something denied by authorities though they’ve not explained the source of the power that caused such destruction.

The blast Saturday disintegrated a building next to the blast site, which appeared to be in a row where other containers once stood, the satellite photos showed. It also shredded the majority of another building just to the west.

The force of the blast also could be seen, with what appeared to be two craters measure some 50 meters (165 feet) across. Other containers nearby appeared smashed and distended by the explosion and the intense fire that followed.

The fire still burned at the site Monday, some two days after the initial explosion that happened just as Iran began a third round of negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Authorities still haven’t offered an explanation for the explosion.

Private security firm Ambrey says the port received missile fuel chemical in March. It was part of a shipment of ammonium perchlorate from China by two vessels to Iran, first reported in January by the Financial Times. The chemical used to make solid propellant for rockets was going to be used to replenish Iran’s missile stocks, which had been depleted by its direct attacks on Israel during the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Iranian military denied receiving the chemical shipment.

Social media footage of the explosion saw reddish-hued smoke rising from the fire just before the detonation. That suggests a chemical compound being involved in the blast, like in the 2020 Beirut port explosion.

Late Sunday, Iran’s semiofficial ILNA news agency quoted Saeed Jafari, the CEO of marine services company working at the port, as saying there were false statements about the cargo that detonated, which he called “very dangerous.”

“The incident happened following a false statement about the dangerous goods and delivering it without documents and tags,” Jafari said.

Another report by the semiofficial ISNA news agency claimed the cargo that caused the blast was not reported to customs authorities as well.

Only high-level authorities in Iran, such as its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, could circumvent normal procedures at the port.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. airstrikes targeting Yemen’s capital killed at least eight people overnight, the Houthi rebels said Monday, as the American military acknowledged carrying out over 800 individual strikes in their monthlong campaign.

The overnight statement from the U.S. military’s Central Command also said its “Operation Roughrider” targeting the rebels had “killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders,” including those associated with its missile and drone program. It did not identify any of those officials.

The U.S. insisted it would continue to carry out its airstrikes, which began March 15 under President Donald Trump as he seeks a deal with Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

“Iran undoubtedly continues to provide support to the Houthis,” the statement said. “The Houthis can only continue to attack our forces with the backing of the Iranian regime.”

It added: “We will continue to ratchet up the pressure until the objective is met, which remains the restoration of freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region.”

The U.S. is targeting the Houthis because of the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel. The Houthis also are the last militant group in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.

Early Monday, the Houthis aired footage of what it described as a U.S. strike targeting the ​​Bani Al Harith District north of Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa. Blood stains could be seen among the rubble and a damaged truck. The Houths’ al-Masirah satellite news channel reported that eight people were killed in the strike, something not immediately acknowledged by Health Ministry officials.

Strikes also hit Yemen’s Amran and Saada governorates during the night, the Houthis added. Two others were killed on Sunday, the Houthis said.

Assessing the toll of the month-old U.S. airstrike campaign has been difficult because the military hasn’t released specific information about the attacks, including what was targeted and how many people were killed. The Houthis, meanwhile, strictly control access to attacked areas and don’t publish complete information on the strikes, many of which likely have targeted military and security sites. Funeral notices suggest high-ranking Houthis have been killed in the American attacks.

“To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations,” Central Command said Monday. “We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we’ve done or what we will do.”

But the military hasn’t acknowledged strikes killing civilians — something activists warn likely has happened in the intense campaign.

The U.S. is conducting strikes from its two aircraft carriers in the region — the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea.

On April 18, an American strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others in the deadliest-known attack of the American campaign. Central Command on Monday offered an explanation for why it hit the port.

“U.S. strikes destroyed the ability of Ras Isa Port to accept fuel which will begin to impact Houthi ability to not only conduct operations, but also to generate millions of dollars in revenue for their terror activities,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have increasingly sought to control the flow of information from the territory it holds to the outside world. It issued a notice Sunday that all those holding Starlink satellite internet receivers should “quickly hand over” the devices to authorities.

“A field campaign will be implemented in coordination with the security authorities to arrest anyone who sells, trades, uses, operates, installs or possesses these prohibited terminals,” the Houthis warned.

Starlink terminals have been crucial for Ukraine in fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion and receivers also have been smuggled into Iran amid unrest there.

MUSCAT, Oman — Negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program will return Saturday to the secluded sultanate of Oman, where experts on both sides will start hammering the technical details of any possible deal.

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on half a century of enmity. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Neither Iran nor the U.S. have offered any explanation on why the talks will return to the Omani capital of Muscat, nestled in the Hajar Mountains. Oman has been a mediator between the countries. Last weekend’s talks in Rome offered a more-equal flight distance between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who are leading the negotiations.

But Rome remains in mourning after the death of Pope Francis, whose funeral will be Saturday. And Iranian state television, in covering last weekend’s talks, complained at length on air about the “paparazzi” gathered across the street from the Omani Embassy in Rome’s Camilluccia neighborhood.

“As you can see, unlike the first round of talks where the presence of journalists was limited and the Omanis had special management in place to prevent a large and chaotic media presence from disrupting the negotiations, this time in Rome, Italy, that kind of control hasn’t been applied,” said Hosnieh Sadat Shobeiri, an Iranian state TV journalist in gray, all-encompassing chador.

“Because of the crowd we’re seeing here, with media outlets from various countries — including some that are anti-Iran — it’s possible that we’ll hear more conflicting reports and news aimed at disrupting the talks coming out of Rome compared to Oman.”

The Muscat talks come as Iran appears to have lined up Chinese and Russian support. Araghchi traveled to Moscow last week and this week visited Beijing.

On Thursday, Chinese, Iran and Russian representatives met the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog that likely will verify compliance with any accord like it did with Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. That deal included China and Russia, as well as France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

However, Iran has greatly restricted the IAEA’s inspections — leading to fears internationally that centrifuges and other nuclear material could be diverted.

The IAEA offered no readout from the talks, but China’s state-run Xinhua news agency on Friday described the three nations as saying the agency has “the necessary potential and expertise to contribute constructively to this process.”

“China, Russia and Iran emphasized that political and diplomatic engagement based on mutual respect remains the only viable and practical path for resolving the Iran nuclear issue,” the report said. It added that China respects Iran’s “right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

The Trump administration has kept France, Germany and the U.K. out of its direct negotiations with Iran, something similarly reflected in Witkoff’s negotiations with Russia over ending its war on Ukraine.

Araghchi meanwhile has said he’s open to visiting Berlin, London and Paris to discuss the negotiations.

“The ball is now in the E3’s court,” Araghchi wrote on the social platform X on Thursday, using an acronym for the countries. “They have an opportunity to do away with the grip of Special Interest groups and forge a different path. How we act at this critical junction is likely to define the foreseeable future.”

The U.S. technical team was expected to arrive in Oman on Friday ahead of the talks Saturday. They’ll be led by Michael Anton, the director of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s policy planning staff. Anton does not have the nuclear policy experience of those who led America’s efforts in the 2015 talks. However, he was an early supporter of Trump, describing the 2016 election as a “charge the cockpit or you die” vote.

“A Hillary Clinton presidency is Russian Roulette with a semi-auto,” Anton wrote. “With Trump, at least you can spin the cylinder and take your chances.”

He also criticized “Iran sycophancy” in the same essay.

Rubio, speaking on a podcast released this week, also kept up a Trump line that Iran needed to stop its enrichment of uranium entirely.

“If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one just like many other countries can have one, and that is they import enriched material,” Rubio said.

But Iran has insisted that keeping its enrichment is key. Witkoff also has muddied the issue by first suggesting in a television interview that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later saying that all enrichment must stop.

Meanwhile, one more wildcard is Israel, whose devastating war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip grinds on. Trump initially announced the Iran talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side. But Israel, which for years has targeted Iran’s nuclear program with attacks on its facilities and scientists, has kept open the possibility of airstrikes to destroy Tehran’s enrichment sites.

On Monday, Israel’s military conducted drills preparing for possible new Iranian missile attacks, the country’s public broadcaster KAN reported.

“Our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response,” Araghchi wrote Wednesday on X.

___

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

___

Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/

LONDON — Officials from Britain, the U.S., European nations and Ukraine will meet in London on Wednesday to push for a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, amid growing report

British Defense Secretary John Healey said the meeting follows talks last week in Paris and will include “what a ceasefire might look like and how to secure peace in the long term.”

But a plan for the talks to involve foreign ministers was scrapped at the last minute after the U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attended the Paris talks, was unable to come because of a scheduling issue.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy posted on X that the talks would now include “officials.” Those attending include retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, President Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

It came amid growing speculation that the U.S. will press Ukraine to cede territory to Russia as part of a potential peace agreement.

During similar talks last week in Paris, U.S. officials presented a proposal that included allowing Russia to keep control of occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a deal, according to a European official familiar with the matter.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed back against that idea, saying: “There is nothing to talk about — it is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people.”

Some European allies are wary of the American proposal. But there’s also acknowledgment by some allies that Russia is firmly entrenched wholly or partially in five regions of Ukraine — Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

If the goal is to obtain a ceasefire immediately, “it should be based on the line of contact as it is,” said a senior French official. The official was not authorized to be publicly named and spoke on the condition of anonymity according to French presidential policy.

Still, Ukraine’s territorial integrity and aspirations to strengthen ties with the rest of the continent are a top priority for the Europeans, the European official said.

It remains to be seen whether the latest diplomatic efforts can lead to an endgame after more than three years of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Britain downplayed expectations of a breakthrough, but says this is an important week for diplomatic efforts to stop more than three years of fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Trump said last week that negotiations were “coming to a head” and the U.S. might “take a pass” if either of the two sides didn’t move toward peace.

Rubio has also indicated the U.S. might soon back away from negotiations if they don’t progress, and suggested that Wednesday’s meeting could be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration continues its involvement.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to visit Moscow again this week. Ushakov provided no further details.

Western analysts say Moscow is in no rush to conclude peace talks, because it has battlefield momentum and wants to capture more Ukrainian land.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman, Dave Pares said “the ball’s in Russia’s court.

“Now is the time for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to show he’s serious about peace,” he said.

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine’s delegation heading to the U.K. has a mandate to discuss only an unconditional or partial ceasefire with Russia. He said that “after a ceasefire, we’re prepared to sit down for talks in any format.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned that “the settlement issue is so complex that it would be wrong to put some tight limits to it and try to set some short time frame for a settlement, a viable settlement — it would be a thankless task.”

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine have held separate talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia as Trump tries to make good on his campaign promise to end the wa r.

Western analysts say Moscow is in no rush to conclude peace talks because it has battlefield momentum and wants to capture more Ukrainian land.

Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing far-reaching conditions.

Putin declared a 30-hour unilateral ceasefire on Saturday, but Ukraine and British officials said Russian attacks continued during the alleged pause. The Associated Press was unable to verify whether a ceasefire was in place along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.

Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for the spring-summer military campaign, Ukrainian and Western officials say.

___

Novikov reported from Kyiv and Madhani from Washington. Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian attacks during the 30-hour Easter ceasefire unilaterally declared by President Vladimir Putin over the weekend killed three people in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, the local governor said Monday.

Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram that the casualties occurred over the last 24 hours, adding that three others were wounded.

Overall, Russia violated the ceasefire more than 2,900 times, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram statement in the early hours on Monday. Zelenskyy said that Russian forces carried out 96 assault operations along the front line, shelled Ukrainian positions more than 1,800 times and used hundreds of drones during the course of the ceasefire.

“The nature of Ukrainian actions will continue to be mirror-like: we will respond to silence with silence, and our blows will be a defense against Russian blows. Actions always speak louder than words,” he said.

Putin announced a temporary Easter truce on Saturday, citing humanitarian reasons. Ukraine said that it would reciprocate any genuine ceasefire by Moscow, but voiced skepticism over the Kremlin’s intentions. Both sides traded accusations of violations shortly after. The ceasefire expired at midnight (2100 GMT) following Easter Sunday.

Overnight into Monday, the Russian forces fired three missiles at Ukraine’s southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, as well as 96 Shahed drones targeting other parts of the country, Ukraine’s Air Force reported. It said it downed 42 drones, while 47 others were jammed mid-flight.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian drones sparked a fire at an “outbuilding” and a “food enterprise,” Gov. Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram. No one was injured in the attack, he said. An unspecified infrastructure object was damaged in the Cherkasy region overnight, Gov. Ihor Taburets said on Telegram.

The Russian Defense Ministry, in a statement on Monday, maintained that Moscow’s forces “strictly observed the ceasefire and remained at previously occupied lines and positions.” It accused Ukraine of violating the ceasefire 4,900 times, including six attempts at assault operations, 1,404 attacks from artillery, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, and 3,316 drone strikes targeting Russian troops.

The ministry said that once the ceasefire expired, the Russian military “resumed the special military operation” in Ukraine.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

LOS ANGELES — In the fight for the U.S. House, Democrats are hoping pop rock star power will help oust a long-serving Republican east of Los Angeles as the party looks to regain control of the chamber and slow President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Tim Myers, a Grammy-nominated former bassist for international hitmakers OneRepublic, announced Thursday he will challenge Rep. Ken Calvert in the battleground 41st District in Riverside County that stretches from the L.A. suburbs to the resort haven of Palm Springs.

“Ken Calvert has been in Washington for 30 years,” Myers says in a video announcing his campaign. The “status quo isn’t working.”

Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the campaign arm of House Republicans, said in a statement that “Democrat Tim Myers is everything wrong with today’s radical left: a Hollywood liberal trying to fake his way into Riverside County.”

Myers grew up in Corona, most of which is in the district, but now lives in neighboring Los Angeles County.

At a time when competitive House contests are becoming scarcer nationwide, Democrats consider Calvert’s closely divided California district one of the party’s best opportunities to gain ground in the chamber, where Republicans hold a fragile 220-213 majority.

With Congress and the White House under Republican control — and Democrats facing an uphill fight to take the Senate in 2026 — the California contest will carry added importance as Democrats maneuver to retake the House to provide a counterweight to the Trump administration on issues from immigration to the environment.

Myers, a prolific producer, songwriter and solo artist, is positioning himself as a change agent in a race against one of the most senior members of the House. The 40-year-old Myers said he was in second grade when Calvert, the longest-serving Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, was first elected in 1992.

In the video that appears to have been filmed in a recording studio, Myers recalls growing up a pastor’s son in Corona, on the western edge of the Southern California district. He recounts the ups-and-downs of the notoriously cutthroat music business that eventually led him to found his own record label. He now lives in the tony enclave of Hidden Hills in neighboring Los Angeles County, a popular redoubt for musicians and actors.

Myers berates Trump policies that he says will hurt veterans and drive up consumer prices.

“Our community is being priced out of homeownership, groceries are more expensive every week and we’re constantly under threat from wildfires and rising crime,” Myers said in a statement. “It’s time for a change.”

Republicans hold a slim registration advantage in the district — less than 2 points over Democrats — and Calvert has beat back tough challenges in the last two elections. Calvert prevailed by about a 3-point edge in 2024, the same year Trump carried the district by 6 points over Democrat Kamala Harris, the former California U.S. senator and attorney general.

The campaign arm of House Democrats has named Calvert a top target for 2026, as he was in 2024. Calvert’s campaign raised over $1.3 million the first quarter of 2025.

California is known as a liberal protectorate. Democrats hold every statewide office, dominate the Legislature and congressional delegation and outnumber registered Republicans by a staggering 2-1 ratio. Still, Republicans retain pockets of political clout in the Southern California suburbs and vast rural stretches, including the Central Valley farm belt.

In 2024, a tough year for Democrats nationally, the party picked up three GOP-held House seats in California.

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian drones pummeled the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, injuring three people and sparking massive fires, officials said Friday, an attack that underlined Moscow’s intention to pursue aerial attacks even as it agreed to temporarily halt strikes on energy facilities.

The strike came shortly before Czech Republic President Peter Pavel visited Odesa early Friday morning and held meetings with the city’s leaders and officials from other southern regions.

“This is another reminder to the whole world: the war continues and Ukraine continues to fight,” the head of the Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, said in a statement.

He reported blazes at at least three locations after the attack late Thursday. “Civilian infrastructure, commercial facilities are on fire, cars damaged,” Kiper said.

Over 70 people and 20 fire engines were involved in extinguishing what the emergency services called “massive fires.”

In another attack, Russian glide bombs injured at least six people, including a child, in the Zaporizhzhia region overnight Thursday to Friday. Regional head Ivan Fedorov published photos showing fire fighters extinguishing flames at multiple damaged residential buildings.

The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired 214 exploding drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks. It said 114 of them were intercepted and another 81 were jammed.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses shot down 43 Ukrainian drones, 34 of them over the Volgograd region and others over Rostov, Kursk and Belgorod regions. The authorities didn’t report any casualties or significant damage.

Meanwhile, a massive blaze at an oil depot in the Krasnodar region has continued to rage since it was hit by a Ukrainian drone attack late Wednesday.

Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders this week, though it remained to be seen what possible targets would be off limits to attack.

After a roughly hourlong call with Trump on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that “technical” talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend would seek to resolve what types of infrastructure would be protected from attack under the agreement.

The three sides appeared to hold starkly different views about what the deal covered. While the White House said “energy and infrastructure” would be covered, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Zelenskyy said he would also like railways and ports to be protected.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized Friday that the agreement reached between Trump and Putin referred only to energy facilities, adding that the Russian military is fulfilling Putin’s order to halt such attacks for 30 days.

“The Russian military are currently refraining from strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in accordance with the agreement reached between Russia and the United States,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Donald Trump is committed to ensuring peace and security through “realism and pragmatism,” in remarks Tuesday before the U.S. leader speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin

NEW DELHI — U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Donald Trump is committed to ensuring peace and security through “realism and pragmatism,” in remarks Tuesday before the U.S. leader speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gabbard did not refer to a particular country or conflict, but said securing peace required “commitment to fostering cultural and economic ties that reduce the likelihood of an escalation to conflict” and “courage to engage directly with both friends and adversaries alike.”

Gabbard spoke at the Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi on a visit to India that holds special significance: She was the first Hindu elected to Congress when she served as a representative from Hawaii. In her new role she oversees and coordinates the work of more than a dozen intelligence agencies.

“Trump remains unwavering in his commitment to achieving peace through a strategy rooted in realism and pragmatism,” Gabbard said at the security and economics conference.

Trump will speak with Putin on Tuesday in a possible pivot point in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy.

Also in her address, Gabbard said there is “huge opportunity” in expanding the India-US relationship.

“I am confident that this partnership and friendship between our two countries will continue to grow,” she said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump met last month in Washington and spoke about easing tariffs, resolving trade issues and shoring up defense ties.

Gabbard also met Modi and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday.

Singh, in a post on social platform X, said they “discussed a wide range of issues which include defence and information sharing, aiming to further deepen the India-US partnership.”

India is a key strategic partner of the U.S. and is seen as integral to Washington’s strategy of containing China in the Indo-Pacific region.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea Monday, South Korea’s military said, hours after South Korean and U.S. troops kicked off their large annual combined drills, which the North views as an invasion rehearsal.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile firings, North Korea’s fifth missile launch event this year, were detected from the North’s southwestern Hwanghae province but gave no further details such as how far they flew. It said South Korea bolstered its surveillance posture and is closely coordinating with the United States.

Earlier Monday, the South Korean and U.S. militaries began their annual Freedom Shield command post exercise, their first major combined training of President Donald Trump’s second term. The allies have already been engaging in diverse field training exercises in connection with the Freedom Shield training.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry warned Monday the Freedom Shield training risks triggering “physical conflict” on the Korean Peninsula. It called the training an “aggressive and confrontational war rehearsal” and reiterated leader Kim Jong Un’s stated goals for a “radical growth” of his nuclear force to counter what he claims as growing threats posed by the U.S. and its Asian allies.

This year’s training came after the South Korean and U.S. militaries paused live-fire training while Seoul investigates how its fighter jets mistakenly bombed a civilian area during a warm-up drill last week.

About 30 people were injured, two of them seriously, when two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly fired eight MK-82 bombs on a civilian area in Pocheon, a town near the North Korean border, on Thursday. The bombing occurred while South Korean and U.S. forces were engaging in a live-fire drill ahead of the Freedom Shield exercise.

The initial assessment from the South Korean air force was that one of the KF-16 pilots entered the wrong coordinates and failed to visually verify the target before proceeding with the bombing. The second pilot had the correct coordinates but focused only on maintaining flight formation and dropped the bombs on the first pilot’s instructions with recognizing the target was wrong, according to the content of the latest briefing provided to The Associated Press.

Gen. Lee Youngsu, chief of staff of the South Korean air force, bowed and apologized Monday over the injuries and property damage caused by the bombing, which he said “should have never happened and must never happen again.”

Both the South Korean and U.S. militaries have halted all live-fire exercises in South Korea following the mistake. South Korean military officials say live-fire training will resume after they complete the investigation of the bombing and form preventative steps.