North Korean leader’s meeting comes amid concern in Western capitals over growing ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.

"The scale of deployed North Korean troops is being closely watched," Yoon Yeocheol, South Korea's ambassador to the U.K., told Newsweek.

By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged the country's military to improve capabilities for fighting a war in a speech last week, state media KCNA said on Monday, after Pyongyang dispatched thousands of troops to Russia.