Reuters
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Denmark expanded its military service on Tuesday to include women. Scandinavian countries are looking to recruit more soldiers and strengthen their defense amid growing security concerns across Europe.

Under the law passed by Danish Parliament in June 2023, Denmark requires that women who will become 18 years old after July 1, 2025 register an assessment date for potential military conscription.

Until now, women, who accounted for around 24% of all recruits last year, were allowed to voluntarily join the military.

“In the world situation we are in, we need to have more drafts. I think women should contribute equally to that, just as women do,” Katlin, a recruit for the Danish royal lifeguard, told Reuters without giving his last name.

In Denmark, volunteers are first signed up for drafting, with the remaining numbers drawn in the lottery system.

The military is in the process of adjusting barracks and equipment suitable for women.

“There are a variety of things that need to be improved, especially in terms of equipment. Now it’s made for men, so perhaps the backpack is a little too big and the uniforms are also bigger,” Katlin said.

Denmark, which agreed to promote defence spending last week with its NATO allies, plans to gradually increase its draft period between four and 11 months in 2026, and to increase the number of recruits serving from 5,000 to 7,500 in 2033.

Kyiv
CNN
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According to an intelligence report assessment by Ukrainian officials, North Korea will triple the number of troops fighting for Russia along the frontline with Ukraine, and will send another 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers to support Moscow.

According to assessments seen by CNN, the troops could arrive in Russia in the coming months, adding to the 11,000 people sent in November who helped repel Ukrainian invasion into Russia’s Kursk region. According to Western officials, around 4,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or injured in the deployment, but cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has since been bloomed.

The assessment of Ukraine seen by CNN states that the Russian Ministry of Defense can provide “necessary equipment, weapons and ammunition” with the aim of “further integration into Russian combat units.” The document adds that there is “great potential” for North Korean troops to engage in combat in parts of Russian occupation, “to strengthen Russian contingents, including during large-scale attack operations.”

An assessment from the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Reporting Agency says there are indications that Russian military aircraft are revising the carrying of personnel.

Possible preparations for new deployments, such as the arrival of ships linked to last year’s deployment at Russian ports and the arrival of cargo aircraft at Sunan Airport, North Korea, were found in satellite images obtained by CNN.

North Korea initially kept its 11,000-man troops a big secret in the fall of 2024, but Russian President Vladimir Putin only confirmed the deployment in late April.

In October, North Korean soldiers were portrayed as hand-to-hand devices at Sergevka military base in Primorsky Krai.

A month later, a Ropcha-class Russian ship docked at Donai Port near Nahokka, 95km (59 miles) to the southwest.

The Lopcha ship carrying the same type of troops was again docked to the same Donai port on May 18th. It was docked again, according to satellite images provided to CNN by the Open Source Centre, a UK-based nonprofit specializing in open source intelligence related to defense and security.

The flight pattern suggests that there may also be some more military movements ongoing. The Open Source Centre supplied CNN with satellite images from North Korea’s Sunan airport on June 4th. This cargo plane was probably taxiing the IL76 to the tarmac. The images do not show what ships and planes are being used for, but the move could suggest a pattern that matches what analysts observed last year.

“The satellite image shows the Russian personnel carriers that arrived in Donai in May and activities at Sunan Airport in May and June,” said Joe Burn, senior analyst at the Open Source Centre. “This appears to indicate that routes previously used to move DPRK troops are active and are now available for use in large future personnel relocations.”

Jennytown, a senior fellow and director of the Stimson Centre’s Korean program, said that the ratings for Ukraine, up to 30,000 people, are “high…but they can certainly come up with that number. They are not elite soldiers. UN Kim Jong says he’s all there is to it, so they depend on what Russia wants.”

The town said it would “sound more realistic” between 10,000 and 20,000 people, and that North Korea may gradually deploy its troops in stages. “There were rumours that a Russian general was already inside the North Korean training forces there,” she said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Thursday suspects that Kyiv could potentially deploy more North Korean troops, but added that the country’s leader Kim Jong Un risked putting his government at risk by exposing so many elite troops to high frontline casualties. “The use of Russia’s elite North Korean forces shows that they rely not only on a growing reliance on the totalitarian regime, but also on serious issues with mobilization reserves,” Umerov said. “Together with our partners, we are monitoring these threats and responding accordingly.”

On Friday, Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Silsky said Russia is gathering 110,000 troops near the frontline hotspot town of Pokrovsk in preparation for the possibility of an attack on the strategic population center.

Russian state-run TASS News Agency, Sergei Shuig, the top adviser of Putin, who previously served as Minister of Defense, visited Pyongyang on June 17, for his second visit in two weeks and his second visit. According to Tass, during the visit, Shoigu announced that 1,000 North Korean sappers and 5,000 military construction workers will be sent to Russia to “restoring infrastructure destroyed by the occupyers” in the Kursk region.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency (NIS) explained to lawmakers in Seoul that North Korea has begun selecting personnel for overseas deployments that could occur in July or August, according to comments by lawmaker Lee Sung Qwain. He emphasized the public announcement that Russia has sent 6,000 more North Korean mine cleaners and military construction workers. It is unclear whether NIS shares Ukraine’s intelligence report rating that deployments could reach up to 30,000.

Reports in Russian media also suggested intensified cooperation. A video from Russian television host and politician Marina Kim was posted on Telegram two days after acknowledging North Korea’s role in the war in late April, showing the intensive preparations of one North Korean force and long-term dugout accommodation. CNN and the UK-based information centre have globalized the facility into a field outside Post-Yoramdvorie, a settlement 10km (6 miles) east of Kresk city.

The six-minute video shows a Russian military instructor declaring that North Koreans, ages 23 to 27, have arrived “physically prepared.” He added, “As fighters, they’re not worse than ours. The enemy is the first to escape.”

Russian trainers discuss translation sheets of basic military terminology for Kim and the Koreans. It is unclear whether the North Korean trainees will be the 11,000 new arrivals sent last year or whether they will arrive. Reporters also visit trench networks where North Korea lives with basic comfortable items such as red Korean pepper, as well as handwritten posters that declare on their bunch of bunches in South Korea’s “revenge to our fallen comrades.”

Two other videos posted by Tass imply greater integration of North Korean soldiers into Russian troops than previously seen. According to assessments by Ukrainian officials, the first exposure of North Korean military to Kursk’s frontline was a distinct, distinct unit due to language barriers with Moscow’s military.

One TASS video shows North Korean and Russian troops working together to clear the buildings in close combat training. The other shows North Korea being trained with shotguns used to tackle the threat of Ukrainian drone.

Additional forces show signs of significant developments in the conflict and that North Korean leaders are doubling their support for Moscow. UN Kim Jong tested North Korean special forces in North Korean media on May 14, leading them to suspect that the visit was related to future developments. The revelation of what appears to be a major development in North Korea is part of a month-long CNN investigation into North Korea’s growing role in supporting the war in Moscow.

The Ukrainian intelligence agency also provided the most complete record of 82 strikes by North Korea’s KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles, revealing that one person is responsible for the deaths of 11 civilians in Pokrovsk in January 2024 and the intense use of this February. Their usage patterns are explained in detail by CNN.

CNN also obtained from staff in the training manual of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency for North Korean Artillery. This is a sign of both the Russian, the ubiquitous nature of weapons and the increased interoperability between the Mosqueyan and Pyongyang troops.

The manual was seen online at the frontline as the number of videos of North Korean artillery has risen at the frontline, and reported last month from 11 UN member states that Pyongyang sent at least 100 ballistic missiles and nine million artillery artillery to Russia in 2024.

The report also reflected a statement from South Korean forces in March that 3,000 more North Korean troops were sent to Russia earlier this year.

The town from Stimson Centre said Pyongyang saw long-term benefits in Moscow’s debt. “There’s an increase in ‘blood debt’ between them,” she said.

Dharamshala, India/Hong Kong
CNN
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The Dalai Lama announced that he would have a successor after his death, continuing the centuries-old tradition that has been a flashpoint in China’s struggle with the Communist Party for Tibet’s future.

The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism declared on Wednesday in a video message to religious elders gathering in Dharamshala, India, where Nobel Peace Prize winners have fled Tibet after the failed uprising against China’s Communist rule in 1959.

“I assert that the Dalai Lama system will continue,” the Dalai Lama said in a pre-recorded video, citing requests received over the years from Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhists, urging him to do so.

“The Gaden Phodrang Trust has the sole authority to recognize future reincarnations. There is no other such authority to interfere with this issue,” he added, using the official name of Dalai Lama’s office.

The office should carry out the search and recognition procedures for the future Dalai Lama “according to past traditions” without revealing details of the process.

The Dalai Lama previously said when he was about 90 years old, he would consult with the high Tibetan Buddhist Lamas and the Tibetan people to reassess whether the Dalai Lama system should continue.

Wednesday’s announcement – made just a few days before his 90th birthday this Sunday – sets the stage for the High Stakes battle over his succession between Tibetan leaders in exile and the Chinese atheist Communist Party.

Asked about the Dalai Lama statement, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman reiterated Beijing’s long-standing stance that the reincarnation of spiritual leaders must comply with Chinese laws and regulations.

In a memoir released in March, the Dalai Lama stated that his successor was born in a “free world” outside of China and urges his followers to reject the candidates chosen by Beijing.

That could lead to the emergence of two rivals, the Dalai Lama. One was chosen by his predecessor and the other by the Communist Party of China.

“Both the Tibetan exile community and the Chinese government want to influence Tibet’s future. They see the next Dalai Lama as the key to doing so,” said Ruth Gamble, an expert on Tibetan history at Latove University in Melbourne, Australia.

Samdon Rinpoche, a senior official in the Dalai Lama’s office, told reporters Wednesday that further information on the procedures or methods for reincarnation of the Dalai Lama will not be revealed to the public until inheritance occurs.

Throughout his life in exile, Tenzin Gyatoso, the 14th Dalai Lama, became synonymous with Tibet and its quest for true autonomy under Beijing’s tightening grip in the Himalayas region.

From his adopted son’s hometown of Dharamshala, he founded a government in exile, and spiritual leaders exiled the unified Tibetans at home, bringing the light to a global stage.

This has resulted in the Dalai Lama becoming a permanent thorn on the side of Beijing.

Since the 1970s, the Dalai Lama has no longer sought for full independence in Tibet, but claims that they no longer want “meaning” autonomy that allows Tibetans to maintain their distinct culture, religion and identity. His commitment to a non-violent “middleway” approach won him international support and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

The Dalai Lama has long been wary of Beijing’s attempts to interfere with the reincarnation system of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tibetan Buddhists believe in the circle of rebirth, and when an enlightened spiritual master like the Dalai Lama dies, he will be able to choose the place and time of his rebirth through the power of compassion and prayer.

However, religious traditions have become a battlefield for Tibetan mind and heart rule, especially since the contested reincarnation of the second highest figure in religion, Panchen Lama.

In 1995, a few years after the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, Beijing established its own Panchen Lama, contrary to the Dalai Lama.

Under Tibetan tradition, the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas have long played an important role in recognizing each other’s reincarnation. Experts believe Beijing will try to interfere in a similar way with the current Dalai Lama sequence.

“There is a series of high-level reincarnation llamas grown by the Chinese government to cooperate within Tibet. “We had a long-term plan to work towards this.”

A “resolution of gratitude” statement released by Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders gathered in Dharamshala on Wednesday said it “strongly condemns the use of the reincarnation subject of the People’s Republic of China for their political interests” and “never accept it.”

On his part, the current Dalai Lama has made it clear that candidates appointed by Beijing do not hold legitimacy in the eyes of Tibetans or followers of Tibetan Buddhism.

“For Chinese communists who explicitly reject religions that include ideas of past and future life, interfering with the system of reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is completely inappropriate,” he wrote in his latest memoir, Voice Without a Voice.